68 Its Family
by ARtheBard
Summary: The team travels to New Orleans for 2 reasons: to comfort Henry as he mourns his Daddy. And to find the man that ended the detective's life. But when the murder turns out to be more than it appears will the team have to accept that they may never get justice for their friend?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is dedicated to Cpl. Charles Hill, Detective Vicky Armel and the over 20,000 other police officers who have given their lives in service to their communities here in America. I also offer it out to those who have done the same around the world. Two of you impacted my life directly. The others, indirectly. All of you and your families have my eternal gratitude.**

**To our living LEOs: every day you say goodbye to your loved ones never guaranteed that you will say hello again. You give yourself to us daily without knowing what dangers you will face. Thank you for all you do. Special hugs sent out to the police officers in my family and in my circle of friends. You all are true heroes.**

**-AR**

* * *

Anthony Powell carefully disassembles his revolver. He dumps the drum and slides the 3 unspent shells to the side. He picks up the 5 used casings and places them in a box. He picks up a Sharpie and carefully writes the date and time the shells were used to carry out his mission. He would keep them until final payment is made for a job well done.

He starts to whistle as he pulls out his cleaning kit. He gently brushes each chamber of the cylinder. He brushes the barrel. He even uses a bore light to make sure nothing remains from the firing. He runs a clean rag through everything, happy to see that it picks up no residue, proof of his cleaning prowess. He then carefully oils the moving parts and then puts it back together.

"Perfect," he praises himself.

He places his executioner in its special satin-lined box. He runs his gloved hand down the blue steel once more before closing the lid and locking the latches down.

"Until next time old friend."

He secures the box in the false bottom of his suitcase, tucking the box of casings beside it. He then picks up the cheap tablet he had purchased for cash earlier that day and walks down to a coffee bar offering free wifi. In seconds he is sipping an espresso as he checks his account in the Cayman Islands. He knows the death of the cop had made the news so it shouldn't take long for…

"Ah, there you are."

He smiles as he sees the deposit has been made. He finishes his drink and leaves. On his way to a bar to enjoy a stronger drink he breaks the tablet in half, tossing one piece in a trashcan near the coffee joint and the other in a can 2 blocks away.

Later that night he packs up the few things that had come out of his suitcase at his motel. At 2 a.m. he drives the beater car he had been using to a part of the city where it won't last long in one piece. He then walks the three miles to the storage facility where a 'John Smith' had paid in cash for a 3 month lease large enough to hold a car. He uses his passcode to enter the gates and goes right to the unit. He unlocks the door and rolls it up, smiling with pride at his restored, black 1966 Ford Mustang Cobra GT.

"Hello, darling," he say to the car.

He quickly places his bags in the trunk and then fires up the engine. Within the hour he is driving calmly out of New Orleans to await his next contract. At a rest area south of the city, he throws the box of shells away. He had his money, no need for the casings with the fingerprints of his employer any longer.

Sliding an 8-Track tape into the factory original stereo he starts to sing along to Simon and Garfunkel. No, he wasn't your typical hit man. But he was good at his job and for those that pay him that is all that matters.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting. Had some personal issues and work issues delaying things. Hopefully all is back on even keel now. I hope. :o)**


	2. Chapter 2

Erin Straus stares at Aaron Hotchner. She slowly nods.

"Of course. The funeral is Saturday?"

"Yes, ma'am. But I have a call in to his captain offering the help of our team if he thinks he may need it."

"My God…" She takes a deep breath. "Do they…have any idea?"

Hotch shakes his head. "Not that I have seen. Morgan reached Martin Florence and he said it is looking like a random act of violence. But considering Will was a cop they have to look into it very carefully."

Straus nods. "Can I assume Garcia is already looking into anyone in Will's history that could want this to happen?"

Hotch manages a grin. "I don't know for sure and I don't think I'll ask."

Straus grins. "I don't blame you." She takes a deep breath. "Anything Agent Jareau needs from us she will have. This will be very hard for Henry."

Hotch takes a quick breath. "Trust me, Chief, I know."

"Of course you do. I'm sorry, Aaron, I didn't mean to imply otherwise."

"No offense taken. I guess…it's just making me remember the early days with Jack. I'm going to offer JJ the chance to start maternity leave early to spend time with Henry. She may refuse but it's just the right thing to do."

"Yes, it is," Straus agrees. "Tell her working from home is an option, too. I would join you on Saturday but I have a previous engagement with my children."

"I think now more than ever we all understand the importance of being with your kids. I will keep you apprised of the situation as we learn more. Thank you," he nods and leaves.

Straus stands and walks over to her window. She remembered the dark days in the BAU when Hotch lost Hailey. The team had blamed themselves and of course Hotch was devastated. How will they weather this hit? Will LaMontagne is the father of JJ's son, Emily's stepson; his son is Godson of Reid and Garcia. This is personal and, much like when Foyet was targeting Hotch, they would not rest until the man that committed this murder is brought to justice. She hears a noise behind her and turns.

"Are you okay?" she asks.

Rossi eases her office door shut and shrugs. "Think we're all still in shock. Sounds like it was senseless…pointless. And now a boy who was excited about his father coming for his third birthday in a couple weeks will now be forced to learn what death means. Give me time and I think the anger will set in. Until then…" he takes a shuddering breath, "until then I have to try to get JJ's scream out of my head. And I don't think that's happening anytime soon."

Straus sees what he needs and is glad to offer it. She walks over and pulls him into a hug, knowing he feels like a father to both JJ and Emily and loves Henry as if he really was his blood kin.

"I can't believe I know two kids that have to learn about death so soon and so…so harshly," he croaks as he allows Straus to try to hug him into a better mood.

* * *

Reid sits in a chair in front of Morgan's desk. The two are silent for the moment. Finally Reid looks at his friend.

"All the stats in the world. I can rattle off any stat I've ever read about police deaths, children orphaned by police, children who lose parents, and none of it makes a damn bit of difference."

Morgan shakes his head, his eyes on the photo of his father that sits on his desk. "No, it doesn't."

Reid studies him a moment. "I'm sorry I can't give you what I can give Henry." Morgan looks at the genius, obviously confused. "My eidetic memory. I can tell Henry stories I know. I can't do that for you. I wish I could."

Morgan manages a smile. "Thanks. I was older so I have some good memories. And my Mom never made us go quiet about Dad. We could talk about him and share memories without worrying about the pain. We kept him alive that way. What you can do for Henry will be invaluable to him as he gets older."

"I hope so. I just wish I could do more."

Morgan takes a deep breath and sits forward. "We can. Whether we go as a BAU team or not, I'm offering my help even if I have to take personal time for it."

Reid lifts a brow. "Need help?"

"Always, Pretty Boy." Morgan grabs his phone, planning to call Marty Florence back to let him know Reid and he would be willing to do whatever they could off the books to help find Will's killer.

* * *

"Aha! And saved to share drive," Garcia says as she finds another felon Will had put away who is now out on parole.

Her fingers fly over the keyboard. She knows that at any moment Straus or Hotch could come in and order her not to look into the case of Will LaMontagne. She had to do what she could as fast as she could. Her Godson deserved to grow up knowing that even though he didn't have his daddy the man that killed Will was in jail. Or had suffered the death penalty. This was one of the times Garcia supports that penalty with no reservations.

"We'll find this bastard, Henry. Your Fairy Godmother will _not_ let you down. And knowing your uncles, they are all working this case regardless of invite or not. We'll find this guy, Henry. When you get older you will have every answer you could possibly need to understand why you lost your father. I knew why I lost my parents and damn it you will know, too! I swear it, Henry!"

Garcia keeps scanning parole files in Louisiana to find anyone Will had helped convict who was either paroled or recently died in jail. Will's death could be a random act of violence or it could be revenge. Garcia would do everything she could to help figure out just which one it is.

* * *

Emily holds JJ as she cries. Cries for her son. Cries for her ex. Cries for a little baby who will never know her father. Cries for a woman who has lost her husband.

And she cries because on some level she still loved Will.

"Let it all out, Jen. Let it go now so we can go talk to Henry."

"H- -how do we…"

"Honestly, I don't know. But we'll do it together, okay? Do…do you want me to tell him?"

JJ shakes her head. Then shrugs. Then just cries some more. "I…I don't know. Maybe. I should but…I don't know if I can."

"You can try. I'll be there if you need me to take over. I promise," Emily vows.

They sit in the Lexus for 5 more minutes as JJ tries to get all her tears out so she can face her son. As she sits up in the seat, she looks at Emily.

"Thank you."

"Jennifer, you know better."

"I know I don't have to say it but I will anyway. I will always have love in my heart for Will because he is Henry's dad and because we did have a good year together. I never loved him like I love you but the love was there and part of it lives in me still."

Emily reaches over and caresses tear-stained cheeks. "I know, Jennifer. I know. How can it not when you have a wonderful reminder of that love at home." She takes a deep breath. "Are you ready to go face him?"

JJ takes a deep breath and wipes off her face with her hands. "I think so. God, and then we need to call my parents. God, Em, so many things to do."

"Yeah, I know. We'll talk to Helen tonight and see if she wants us down there tomorrow or Thursday. Whatever she needs to help her get through the next few days."

JJ just nods. Emily holds her wife's hand, knowing the blonde is silently steeling herself for the conversation ahead. In her own mind, Emily is thinking about an envelope in their safe; an envelope she will need to keep close: Will's Final Directive ceding his parental rights to Emily upon his death. On the off chance Aunt Jolene tries to take Henry, Emily wanted that paper, and her lawyer's phone number, handy. No way was that woman going to inflict more pain on JJ or Henry than they were already going to experience. No. Freaking. Way.

* * *

JJ stares out the window of the Lexus. But instead of the sites along Route 1 she sees images of her life with Will playing out as if on a TV screen.

Their first date. They were both so nervous and couldn't help but wonder if JJ had flown all the way to New Orleans for the weekend for nothing. Will had attempted to show her everything the city had to offer in less than 48 hours. It had been a bit frantic and crazy. By Sunday JJ was beginning to think she'd made a mistake. Then she saw the real Will: the man apologizing for trying to impress the girl from the big city. She had smiled, told him he didn't have to do anything to impress her. He just had to be himself. He had smiled, blushed, then kissed her. A gentle kiss full of promise. "Next time I'll show you me instead of the city," he vowed. They had both laughed at the unintended innuendo but she was happy he wanted a second visit.

A month later she finally had a weekend she could escape the DC area. He had met her at the airport with a single red rose in the terminal…and a beer in his car. She had smiled, glad he remembered her brand and appreciative that he knew she needed it. That weekend had been the one to convince her to give the long distance relationship a go. He had made her a wonderful breakfast Saturday morning that they ate out on his screened in porch. They had talked about their childhoods, their college years, their hopes for the future. By the time she woke up Sunday morning in his bed, his lips questing down her neck, her body pleasantly sore from the evening before she had decided he could maybe be the one.

For a few months things had been really good. Then their jobs got in the way. She'd try to go down but end up on a case. He'd try to visit DC and end up with a homicide he couldn't walk away from. Court dates, seminars, family commitments. They tried to make it work but he could tell she was holding back. Then they crossed paths in Miami. She had finally admitted that she was terrified of a relationship with him. They had made love that evening, promising each other to stop making excuses and start making time for each other.

And for a while they had. Then she had come to realize she just didn't love him enough to uproot her life to move to New Orleans and didn't really want him to move to DC. Plus…she had started to have undeniable feelings for Emily. She was practicing her "we're over" speech when she got the confirmation she had been dreading. She was pregnant. For the baby, they tried to make it work. He had made plans to move to DC to be Mr. Mom but by this time they both knew they were just going through the motions and standing on societal mores for the sake of the baby.

"_Will…it's just…we're not…we could…"_

"_I know, Jayje," he interrupts gently. "I know. I could never be happy up here."_

"_And I couldn't be happy down there. What are we going to do?"_

_He gave her a charming grin. "Compromise and move to South Dakota?"_

_JJ chuckles. "Uh, not sure that will fix us."_

_"Nah, probably not." He reaches over and takes her hand. "I will always have love in my heart for you. I really thought you were the one. But if we have to change so much about one of us to make this work then I guess we aren't really meant to be."_

_JJ shakes her head, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "No…we're not."_

_He leans back in his chair and gives her the sweet grin she had first fallen for. "I can't say I'm surprised. And I wish I could say I didn't feel the same. I do care about you, JJ, but I think you're right."_

_JJ gives him a small smile. "Never thought I'd hate to be right. You will be part of his life, right? I mean, even if we can't be together, you'll be there for him? Us?"_

And he had had been. He'd dropped everything and flown to DC to be there when Henry was born. He'd popped up anytime he had a few days off, had taken vacations with Henry, had picked him up and spent time in New Orleans, DC, anywhere he could get to with their son. Henry had known his father's love. And the love of his stepmother. And now has a half-sister, too.

"Oh, Will...he'll know his family down there. I promise. He'll know Annabelle and Marie and Helen. I promise you he will," JJ vows under her breath.

Emily glances once at her wife then turns back to the road. JJ was processing so much right now. Emily just squeezes her hand in support. JJ looks at her wife.

"I'm scared to tell him, Emily. I am scared to tell him his Daddy is dead."

"We'll tell him together, Jennifer. You have no need to be scared. I'm right here with you."

JJ just nods, her mind thinking about the times she had nearly lost Emily: Alaska, Doyle, Reese, Donaghy, others. JJ's tears slip down her cheeks as the unwanted image of telling her son he has lost his Mama, too, slams into her mind. She lifts up Emily's hand and kisses before turning to look back out the window, unable to shake the image from her mind as she again tries to come up with the words to say to a boy not yet 3 whose life has changed irrevocably.

* * *

Francesca meets Emily and JJ in the hallway. She sees the tear-stained cheeks of JJ and the war going on in Emily as the brunette fights to maintain control of her emotions.

"Caras? Perche sei triste?"*

Emily takes a deep breath and steps to the nanny. "Will e stato assassinato."

Francesca's hand flies to her mouth in shock. "Quando? Come e accaduto?"

"La note scorsa. Gli hanno sparto."**

"Dios…no…" She takes a deep breath. "Jennifer?"

JJ looks at the nanny, tries to speak but can't find her voice. Francesca just pulls her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, cara. So sorry. When do we leave?"

JJ eases back. "We?"

"It's family, cara. Yes, we. You, the children and even Helen will need me. When do we leave?"

JJ just shrugs and pulls the woman close once more. Emily places a hand on Francesca's shoulder.

"Tomorrow. When Father's jet arrives. I just…have to call him in a bit. But first," she looks at Jen. "We have to tell Henry."

"Go to him. I will take Rocky and make a snack for her."

"No, she needs to know, too. She needs to know Uncle Will is gone because Henry will probably be pretty upset the next few days and, shit, maybe she can help him when we can't," Emily suggests.

Francesca nods. "Perhaps. I will be here in the hallway if you need me."

The women nod and go into the playroom. Rocky and Henry run to them, their faces alight with happiness.

"MOMMY! MAMA!"

JJ drops to her knees and engulfs them both in her arms. Her tears come once more, unbidden but refusing to leave. Henry and Rocky ease back and stare at her, concern on their faces.

"Mommy? Why cry?" Henry asks.

"Boo, Mommy?" Rocky asks.

JJ shakes her head. "No, Rock Star, no boo-boo," she chokes out.

"How about we go sit on the window bench," Emily suggests.

The kids run over to it. Emily sits down and pulls Henry up into her lap so JJ can look at his face. JJ sits down with Rocky. JJ takes a deep breath.

"Henry…you know…you know the job of a police officer can be very dangerous, right?" Henry nods, confusion on his face. "Well, you see…last night…your…it was…" JJ's throat closes up and she can speak no more as she stares at the last moments of innocence for her little boy. She looks helplessly at Emily.

Emily takes a deep breath and turns Henry so she can look into his eyes. "Son, last night…a very bad man…hurt your Daddy." Henry stiffens. "He…he…your Daddy is…is with Jesus now. He was…he…he died."

Henry stares at her, trying to understand what she is saying. "I go see. I help him feel more better."

Emily bites her lip. "Henry…he can't get better. He…he is in Heaven now."

"NO!" Henry leaps off Emily's lap. "I go! I help Daddy!"

She reaches for him but he kicks her in the shin and runs from the room. Rocky calls after him.

"Ree! No kick! Ree!"

Emily gets up and limps to the doorway. She sees Henry in Francesca's arms, crying for his daddy. Francesca just nods that she has him. Emily turns and walks back over to JJ and Rocky.

"Em…I am so sorry," JJ whispers. "I saw his innocence, his…his purity. And now that is gone. Forever.

"It's okay, Jennifer. I understand."

"Mommy? Mama? Ree time out?" Rocky asks.

JJ hugs her closer. "No, Rocky, he won't get a time out. He's very sad because something bad happened to Uncle Will."

"Love Unca Will."

JJ hugs her close and kisses her temple. "He loved you, too, Rock. Oh, he loved you so much, too."

Emily pulls the two into her arms and holds them, touched to see Rocky patting her mommy's shoulder, offering all the comfort a 16 month old can.

* * *

***Emily and Francesca's conversation. Translation per Android Translator:****

**Darlings! Why are you sad?  
Will has been murdered.**

**When? How did it happen?  
Last night. He was shot.**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hello, Emily. How are you doing?"

Emily paces with the phone up to her ear. "Not good, Dad. Last night Will was murdered."

"Oh my God."

"Yeah. Uh, any chance you can send the jet to fly us all down there tomorrow? His funeral is Saturday and we're going down to help Helen with the police aspect of it. And, well, just to be there for her and Annabelle."

"I'll call the pilots association and leave as soon as we can this evening. We'll arrange to pick up Charlie and his co-pilot for the hop from Dulles to New Orleans."

Emily nods. "Thanks, Dad."

"How are Henry and JJ doing?"

"Henry is angry. He will only talk to Francesca. He has a hell of a kick though as the bruise on my shin shows. JJ is…she's devastated that Henry has lost his father. And I know she's probably flashing back to the times she nearly lost me. God, Dad, I can't help her."

"You can, Emily. You help her by loving her and doing whatever she needs you to do whenever you need to do it," he reminds her.

Emily nods. "Right. Anything. I just…feel so helpless."

"I know, sweetheart. But you will be okay. And when you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll be there for you."

Emily bites her lip, giving her a second to rein in her emotions. "Thanks, Daddy," she chokes out.

"Your mother will be home soon. I'll let her know what's happened. See you tomorrow, Emily."

"Bye, Dad. I love you."

"Love you, too."

Emily hangs up and stares at the phone. The next call is to the Jareau's. Emily walks down the hall from the spare room to the master bedroom where JJ is laying down. No surprise, her blood pressure was close to the red zone. Emily crawls onto the bed beside her wife and brushes a lock of hair off JJ's face.

"You okay?" Emily asks the winces. "Sorry. Stupid question."

JJ manages a smile as she takes Emily's hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't any help with the kids. I'm sorry I…I am…shit…"

Emily smiles. "You're not shit, baby." JJ manages a quick giggle, which was Emily's aim. "How could you not be so screwed up about this? He is…uh, was Henry's father. And you loved him at one time and part of you still loves him. I get that."

"But he was your friend, Emily. And you were close to him and I know you haven't even had a chance to cry because I've been busy breaking down every five minutes." JJ takes a deep breath. "You…You know it's not because I'm in love with him, right? I mean, you know I- -"

"Jen, stop. Of course I know that." She pulls her wife into a hug. "And I will cry eventually. I just…can't right now. We still have to call your parents. We need to call Helen back and let her know we will definitely be there tomorrow. We have so much to do." She kisses JJ's temple. "I'll cry when I need to. I promise."

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

JJ holds out her hand. "My turn."

Emily places the phone in the outstretched hand. "I can take over if I need to."

"I know. Just…hold me. I'll be fine."

* * *

"Are you sure I can't do something? Maybe I can get someone else to take my place and- -"

Garcia shakes her head. "No, sweetheart. Trust me considering what's happened I want to tell you to find someone else to go, turn in your badge, and become a mattress tester." She stares into sympathetic eyes. "But you are an agent of the D.E.A. and you have been working this case for 2 years. Trust me when I say it is a damn good thing I am handy with a hair dye kit as you will give me as many gray hairs as my babies at the BAU but it is who you are, Stephanie."

Stephanie stares into the blue eyes of her girlfriend. "Are you sure? I mean, I only met Will a couple times but he's important to you since he's Henry's dad. And I know Henry is going to need you and he'll probably bruise your heart. He's just so young. If you need me, I will be here for you."

Garcia smiles and strokes a hand down her girlfriend's cheek. "You are something special, Agent Diedrickson. I love you and I will worry my pretty little head off while you are gone because you _will_ be gone. I need you to go out there and make the world safer for Henry and Annabelle and Rocky and Jack and all the other little kiddies."

Stephanie leans in and gives Garcia a toe-curling kiss. "I love you, Penelope. And I know you know my handler. Call him if you need me. I'll break cover and get my ass back to you. Promise me."

Garcia nods. "I promise. Now you promise me you'll be careful in Sao Paulo."

Stephanie stares at the analyst a moment then starts to grin. "I almost asked how you knew I'd be in Brazil."

"Silly girl," replies Garcia with a smile.

"Yeah. Love makes me silly," Stephanie agrees.

"Good. Because I love you, too. And if you don't get back to me safe and sound I'll have to fly to Brazil and forget I'm a pacifist as I go all Xena on people's asses."

Stephanie starts to laugh. "I can so see you doing that."

Garcia nods. She then pulls Stephanie into a passionate kiss. When it finally ends, Garcia stares into her girlfriend's eyes.

"Make love to me?"

Stephanie kisses her gently. "You never have to ask, Penelope."

Garcia takes Stephanie's hand and leads her back to the bedroom. When Stephanie leaves in the morning it could be 2 weeks or more before they see each other again. The women plan to get very little sleep as they reaffirm their love and try to sate themselves before the long separation.

* * *

"Florence."

"Marty, it's Derek Morgan."

Florence lets out an audible sigh. "Morgan…I can guess why you're calling again."

"Is there anything I can do? On the record or off?" Morgan offers.

"Be honest, the captain and I have talked. Once we get all the forensics back we're sending stuff to your team. We want this fuck found and we know you're not going to swoop in here just to steal the case from us. We're just waiting for everything to come across. Hotch should be getting the official request for help tomorrow."

"Thank you," Morgan says sincerely. "Now, outside the case…is there anything we can do? Anything I can do?"

"Just pray for his wife and kids. Damn, Derek, that little girl won't know him." Florence takes a deep breath to try to settle his emotions.

"Marty, JJ and Emily have tons of home movies with Will in them. Spencer Reid has an eidetic memory. Penelope Garcia has loads of movies and pictures of Will. Annabelle will know him through those photos and memories. She will know her daddy, Marty. I promise you we will make sure she knows her daddy."

It takes a few minutes for Florence to respond. "Thanks, Derek. Check your email in the morning. Lab is rushing everything through as quickly as they can without making any mistakes. As soon as I see anything I'll send it on to you."

"Thanks, Marty. And anything you need outside the case, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Derek."

Derek pockets his cell phone and walks over to a picture on the wall. Henry is sitting on his shoulders laughing at something. He had joined Emily, JJ and Rocky on a picnic that day and Henry had insisted on a shoulder ride. They had chased after Emily, Henry yelling "Go, Horsey" the whole time. Morgan smiles and pats the picture.

"I'll share all my memories of your dad with you, Little Man. And as you get older and have questions, I'll be there. I know what it's like to lose your dad so young. I'll be there for you. Always," he promises.

Morgan goes to his bedroom to pack his go bag. And to pack a suit to wear to a funeral for a friend and fellow LEO.

* * *

Reid tosses a legal tablet to the side and grabs another. All in all 5 tablets are completely filled with snippets of memories, complete conversations, even sketches of good times Will and Henry had shared. He has 10 more tablets to fill, for he believes that is what he needs to give a chronological life story of Will as he had known him.

He reaches up and presses against his temple, trying to will the migraine settling in to go away. He had to get this finished tonight. He had to have it ready so if Henry had questions he need only grab a tablet and show his Godson the answer. His hand starts to cramp and he pauses in his writing.

"But we don't have the final answer he will want. Not yet at least. Who did this? Who killed your father, Henry? And why? We will do what we have to do to find an answer. I promise you. This case will stay open on my desk until it is solved. I swear it, my little Jedi."

He grabs his pen and starts to write again. He would put all the tablets in order in a box and give them to JJ so that Henry would have them as he gets older and starts asking questions she can't answer.

* * *

Hotch sits down on the couch and pulls his son up into his lap. Jessica stands nearby at her brother-in-law's request.

"Jack, you know Henry?"

Jack nods. "Aunt JJ and Aunt Emily's son. He's my friend."

Hotch smiles. "Yes, he is." He takes a deep breath. "Last night Henry's daddy passed away. Do you remember Will?" Jack nods. "Well, he is in heaven now."

"With Mommy?"

Hotch's eyes get glassy as he thinks about Hailey. "Yeah, Jack, with Mommy."

"Did Mommy know Will?"

"Uh, yeah, she did," Hotch answers, confused by the question.

"Then she won't be lonely no more."

Jessica has to turn away at the simple, heartfelt conclusion. Hotch hugs his son close and kisses him on the head.

"No…no she won't be."

"Is there gonna be a funeral?" Jack asks.

"Yes, there is."

"Can I go in case Henry needs a friend?"

Hotch smiles. "I think that would be great." He looks at Jessica who nods. "You and Aunt Jessica will fly down on Friday. I will already be there with the team."

"Okay. Henry can come stay the night here if he wants," Jack offers.

Hotch hugs him closer. Could he love this kid more? He takes a deep breath. "Henry is going to be down there already. He has a new little sister that will need him. But I know he will be happy to see you."

"I can tell him about the memory candle."

"I think that's a great idea, Jack," Hotch tells his son. He hugs him and kisses him once more. "Now, how about you go wash up for dinner."

Jack nods, hops down and hurries down the hall. Jessica walks over and sits down in the armchair.

"I'm still in shock. When you called I just couldn't help but think about that little baby," Jessica says.

Hotch runs his hands up his face and through his hair. "Yeah, we're all worried about her and Helen. Helen is estranged from her family so Emily and JJ are going down tomorrow to help her with everything. Will's cousin Marie will be there, too."

"I am so glad she's not alone. Now what about you? This has to hit pretty close to home."

Hotch nods. "Yeah, it does. But the team, including JJ, was there for me when I needed them. Time for me to be there for them." Hotch grins as a memory hits him. "When Hailey and Jack were in witness protection, JJ would find reasons to pass Henry off to me. At their rehearsal dinner, at a picnic the team had, she even convinced me to help her go shopping one time. She gave me time with Henry somehow always knowing when missing Jack was getting crippling for me. Time for me to return that care and concern and be there for her however she needs me."

"You know, every time I see a news report of an officer killed in the line of duty I thank God it's not you or someone I know," Jessica says. "This is a horrible punch to the gut. I can't imagine what his family is going through as bad as I feel."

Hotch thinks a moment. "We know when we put the badge on that it's a possibility. Our loved ones know it's a possibility. Still doesn't make it easier when it actually happens to someone you know."

"There but for the grace of God, eh?"

Hotch nods. "As wrong as that sounds, that _is_ the first thought that flashes through your head. It's human. Still makes you feel like sh- -. Hey, buddy. Ready for dinner?"

Jack nods as Jessica smiles at the quick edit Hotch had done to his statement. Hotch stands and pulls off his tie.

"Me, too. Let's go see what yummy meal Jessica has for us tonight."

Jack runs to the table, followed by his father and his aunt.

"_Yes, there but for the grace of God go I_," Hotch thinks to himself as he unconsciously drags his hands over the scars beneath his shirt on his torso.

* * *

Rossi stares out over the backyard of his mansion. The wide open space is neatly manicured even in winter. Several cleared areas hint at gardens that would be in full bloom in Spring, giving the yard the hint of a fairytale wonderland.

But all he sees is a grave. A small grave. A grave for a child who didn't have time to make an impact on anyone but his parents.

He jumps as a hand gently runs over his shoulder. Rossi had forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Want to talk about it?" Straus asks gently.

Rossi shakes his head. "No. Just…thinking about parallels." He takes a deep breath. "A child a parent never got to know. A parent a child will never get to know. Just…parallels in the darkness."

Straus nods. "I see what you mean." She wraps her arms around him from behind. "You do know it's okay to cry, Dave. For your son and for Will."

Rossi nods. "I know. But if I start, I may not stop," he answers with an emotion choked voice.

She turns him so she can stare into his soft brown eyes. "You will. Even if you cry all night you will stop in the morning because you want to help find answers for Henry."

Rossi takes a deep breath. "We've been invited in?"

"Yes. That was Hotch calling me. He got a call 20 minutes ago from Will's captain. The killer has some confusing actions and he wants a profile. I think he also wants extra guns on the street, too."

"Probably. Did he say what was confusing?"

"Just said when Hotch saw the surveillance video he would understand." She runs a hand through Rossi's hair. "But that is for tomorrow. Come upstairs, Dave. Come lie in my arms and cry for your son and for what Henry has lost."

Rossi just nods and allows Straus to lead him upstairs. For many months he had cared for her while she struggled with sobriety. Now…now she would care for him as he faced a demon from his past awakened by a monster in his present.

* * *

"Hi, Mom," JJ forces out before bursting into tears.

"Jenny? Jenny, what's wrong?" Sandy Jareau demands.

Emily carefully removes the phone from her wife's hands. She had worried the hormonal woman would be unable to keep her emotions under control and is ready to take over the notification.

"Sandy, she's okay," Emily states.

"She doesn't sound okay," Sandy points out.

Emily sighs. "Maybe not. But…there is no easy way to say this." Emily takes a deep breath. "Sandy, Will was murdered last night."

JJ moans at the words. Sandy gasps.

"Oh, God…"

"Yeah. His funeral is Saturday. Marie asked us to come down to help with the preparations and…and I think just to be there for Helen and Annabelle."

"Oh, that poor, sweet baby."

"Yeah."

"How's Henry? Does he know?"

"He knows. He's just not speaking to us right now. Francesca is with him since he seems to blame us for the fact that he can't call his daddy."

"Are there any leads?"

"No, just a lot of questions. In fact his captain has asked our team for help. Once I get Henry, Rocky and Jen settled with Helen and Marie I'll meet the others at the station."

"You're flying separately?"

"Yes. Father is flying in overnight. We'll leave tomorrow after a trip to Dr. Manton. Jen's, understandably, having some blood pressure spikes so we want to check in with Doc."

"We are in Houston. We'll head for New Orleans tomorrow. We should get there in the early afternoon."

Emily smiles. "Thanks, Sandy. I know it will help Jen and Henry both to have you two there."

"And, Emily, call us after you leave Dr. Manton. We need to know the twins are okay," Sandy insists.

"We'll call. I promise. Hopefully JJ will be a little calmer tomorrow." She rubs her wife's shoulder. "This is all just a little raw for all of us right now."

"I imagine so. If you all need anything please call us."

"I will, Sandy. Promise."

"I love you, Emily."

"We love you, too, Sandy. See you tomorrow."

"See you then, dear."

Emily hangs up the phone and tosses it on the table. She pulls JJ into her arms and they just sit silently for a few minutes. JJ finally lifts her head from Emily's shoulder.

"Thank you."

"No thanks needed, Jen." She kisses JJ's forehead. "No need to thank me for loving you."

"Which is why I always make sure I do," JJ says with a sincere smile.

Emily leans forward and gives her wife a gentle kiss. "Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

"Just keep loving Henry the way he needs to be loved despite his treatment of you."

Emily smiles. "Done."

"And just keep holding me?"

Emily pulls her close once more. "Also done."

* * *

Emily sits down beside Henry's bed. "You speaking to me yet, Champ?"

Henry pulls Bear-Bear closer to his chest. "Want Daddy," he whispers.

Emily's heart nearly breaks all over again. "I know you do, Henry. And if I could get him for you I would. I would trade all I own to bring your daddy back." She runs a hand over his head. "But I can't. All I can do is promise to help you always remember him and make sure you know how much he loved you. Because he loved you so, so much."

Henry sighs. "Love Daddy."

"How about you sleep with Mommy and me tonight? Your mommy is really sad like you are and maybe you can help each other have good dreams."

"And Ska?"

Emily smiles. "He can come, too. He can sleep at the end of the bed."

"Okay," Henry agrees with an uncharacteristic lack of emotion.

Emily lifts him up into her arms. "Come on, Champ, let's go see Mommy."

"Mama?"

"Yes, son?"

"I sorry I kick you."

Emily smiles and kisses his cheek. "You were upset. I forgive you. Just promise me you won't kick anyone else when you get upset."

"Promise, Mama."

When they get to the bedroom she sets him on the bed and he crawls up to cuddle with JJ. Alaska jumps up and crawls up there with him. Emily smiles and goes to finish packing her bag for the trip.

"Mommy? Why did Daddy die?"

Emily, in the closet, freezes. How will JJ answer that question? How does anyone?

JJ takes a deep breath. "I don't know, Henry. I think we just have to pray and we have to hope that someday we understand."

"Him in heaven?"

JJ nods. "Yes, he is."

Henry thinks a second, his young mind trying to understand that which is confounding at any age. "Him be our angel now, Mommy."

Emily has to cover her mouth to stifle her sob at that innocent pronouncement. JJ pulls her son close as her own tears start once more.

"Yes he is, Henry. Yes he certainly is."


	4. Chapter 4

Emily puts the last of the luggage in the van as Francesca finishes securing the child seats in it. The nanny looks at Emily.

"What of Alaska's food?"

"We can just buy some when we get down there. I have a collapsible bowl for water on the plane."

"Okay, cara."

That morning Henry had insisted Alaska had to come with them. Since they are staying at Will and Helen's house, Emily had called and Helen had agreed to allow the pup to come as a comfort to his young master. A call to Tom Colter had him agreeing to stop in and check on Sergio each day and to bring the mail in. Emily takes a deep breath. She had not gotten much sleep last night as her mind wandered between how to comfort her son and how to find the man that killed his father. She was glad to see JJ was on more even footing emotionally this morning.

"Shall I sit in the van with the children while you two are with Dr. Manton?" the nanny asks.

"Yeah, you can…" Emily thinks a second. She smiles. "You know what, how about all 3 of you come in. I mean, you may not want to be there for the clinical part of it but what about coming in to see the ultrasound live?"

Francesca chuckles. "Cara, I have seen them. I can stay in the waiting room. But I think it would be great for Henry and Rocky to see their siblings. Especially if Rocky can see there are no chew marks on the babies."

Emily laughs at that remark. "Very true. Okay, we'll take the kids in for the ultrasound and I'll bring them back out when Doc has to do the physical. Maybe…maybe seeing the lives of his siblings will help Henry understand that life goes on."

"Si, cara, I am sure it will."

The two head inside to check on JJ and the kids. Right from the doctors they would be going to Dulles to meet up with Gerald for the flight to New Orleans. Emily lets out a breath.

"It's gonna be a long few days."

"Si, cara, but will we make it. You will see, Emily. We will be just fine."

Emily smiles and hugs the woman. "With you by our side, how can we not be, Francesca?"

* * *

Garcia had been back at her desk at 7 a.m. She would have been there earlier but she had also had to say goodbye to her girlfriend for a couple weeks or more.

"This day fucking sucks," she mutters as she starts to once more search for recent parolees or recent inmate deaths who had ties to Will.

"Hi."

Garcia spins and sees Kevin standing in the door, two cups of Starbucks in his hands.

"Hi," she answers.

"I heard about Will," he states. "I figured you would be in early." He holds up a cup. "Thought you might need this."

Garcia smiles. "My hero."

Kevin smiles and walks in to give her the drink. "So, uh, are you all going to go help?"

Garcia nods. "Yeah. Hotch told us all last night. He wants me to go, too, to be close to search things and, well, I think to be close for JJ but he didn't say that."

Kevin smiles. "Henry will be glad to have you there."

Garcia smiles. "Yeah, he will be."

"So, uh, if you need a hand here, I'm volunteering. Anything you need I can take care of."

"Thanks, Kevin. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah." He takes a deep breath. "I liked Will. Any chance it would be okay if I flew down Friday night to go to the funeral on Saturday."

Garcia nods. "That would be great, Kevin. And I'll have Hotch book me a double. You can crash in the other bed that night so you can save a little money since you'll be buying a last minute ticket."

"Umm, Stephanie won't shoot me will she?"

Garcia giggles. "She's on assignment so you are safe. For now, at least."

Kevin smiles at her. "Good to know." He stands. "I'll let you get to work. I'll brief with your team so I know where things stand."

"Sounds good. We're meeting at 9."

Kevin nods. "I'll be there." He starts towards the door, then turns back. "Penny, I'm really sorry about Will."

Garcia gives him a sad smiles. "I know. Thanks, Kevin."

* * *

"Well, are you two ready to see your brother and sister?" Dr. Kendle Manton asks Henry and Rocky.

Henry nods, not sure what they are about to see. Rocky leans towards Dr. Manton and whispers to her.

"Mommy eats."

Kendle grins. "Mommy eats a lot?"

Rocky shakes her head. "No. Mommy eats babies."

Kendle's eyebrows shoot up in amusement. "Uh, what?"

Emily strokes a hand over Rocky's curls. "Rocky is worried her Mommy has eaten the babies."

Kendle chuckles and looks at Rocky. "Rocky, even though there are two little babies in your Mommy's tummy, she did not eat them. They are just growing there until they are ready to be born."

"Oh," Rocky says skeptically.

"If you can figure out a way to make her believe that I'll help you bottle it up to sell," JJ tells Kendle.

The doctor grins and starts the scan of JJ's stomach. Emily points to the monitor and watches as Henry and Rocky's eyes get wide as they see the babies moving around inside. Rocky looks from the screen to JJ's stomach and back again.

"See…her eats," she says with conviction.

Emily chuckles and kisses the top of the little one's head. "When I was pregnant with you you were in my tummy just like they are in Mommy's tummy."

Rocky slowly shakes her head. "No. Her eats. Time, Mommy. Bad."

JJ and Emily exchange an amused look as Kendle and her nurse giggle. This is one headstrong little girl! Emily looks at Henry.

"What do you think, Champ?"

Henry just shrugs. He hadn't talked much that morning except when insisting Alaska had to come with them. JJ reaches over and strokes his cheek.

"They are so lucky to have you as a big brother, Henry. You are going to be able to teach them so much."

Henry watches the screen a moment more. He turns to Kendle.

"Them 'kay?"

Kendle nods. "They look perfect, Henry."

He looks back at the screen. "Look squished."

Kendle smiles. "Well, they definitely have less room in there than you or your sisters had but they are just fine."

Henry looks at his mother. "Tiny, Mommy."

JJ nods. "They are. But they are getting bigger and before we know it they will be born and you will have another sister and finally a little brother."

"Him need puppy."

Emily chuckles and kisses the top of his head. "We'll get him his own puppy when he gets older, like you were. Okay?"

He leans back against Emily. "'Kay, Mama."

Emily and JJ exchange a look. He had spoken more in those few sentences than he had all morning. Maybe he was starting to even out emotionally. Or maybe his mother's love him so much they will try to find a ray of hope wherever they can.

* * *

After getting a warning from Kendle to keep careful track of her blood pressure over the next few emotion-packed days, JJ is told she is otherwise in good health at this point in her pregnancy. They had then driven to the Signature terminal at Dulles airport to see Gerald already waiting for them. They quickly get the van unloaded, including the child seats which will be transferred to the plane. Gerald pulls JJ into a hug.

"I am so sorry, Jennifer."

JJ nods. "Thank you, Gerald."

He then lifts Henry up into his arms. "How you doing, Henry?"

Henry, his normally vibrant eyes dull, leans his head onto his grandfather's shoulders. "Pa, Daddy in heaven."

Gerald hugs him closer. "I know, Piccolo. I know. Come on, let's get you to the plane, okay?"

Henry just nods as his grandfather carries him into the terminal. Within 45 minutes the plane is taxiing down the runway for liftoff. Emily, at his request, sits beside Henry. Francesca is sitting beside Rocky and JJ is sitting beside Gerald. He takes her hand.

"Is there anything I can do for you or Henry? Or Helen even?"

JJ shrugs. "I don't know about Helen. As for me and Henry, you're doing it: you're here, Gerald."

He smiles. "I'm glad I can be here for you all."

"So, Emily and I talked for about 3 hours after your joint session with Westfallen."

"I see. Um, and?"

JJ smiles. "I just want to say how happy I am that you two really hashed things out. Are things going okay with your doctor in England?"

Gerald nods. "Surprisingly, yes. Turns out I had a heck of a lot of baggage to deal with," he admits with a grin.

"No surprise. You are of an age where feelings are internalized. I can imagine your father was just the same."

Gerald grins. "To say the least. And my mother and grandmother were also of the era to encourage me to hide emotion instead of express them. When…when Liz's career started to eclipse mine I had no way of coping other than the bottle and…and women who cared about my wallet." He looks up and across to see Emily stroking a hand over Henry's head. "I lost so much time with my daughter and my wife. I could have lost all of you; all of this. It's a little…hard to accept sometimes so I am glad that I finally have someone who can help me weed through all the crap in my head. Scary sometimes, though."

"Yeah, it can be," JJ agrees. "But she is so proud of you. And she is so…I guess the word is 'settled' about everything that has been in your past."

"I was so worried she'd push you away that night."

JJ grins. "She didn't get a chance to. She 'camped out' with the kids in the living room that night. And when we finally went to bed, I made her talk to me. Told her we needed to hash it out that night so she could start completely fresh the next day." JJ chuckles. "Still can't believe that worked on her."

Gerald chuckles. "I'm not surprised. When she left me with Westfallen I could see something in her eyes I had never seen before."

"What's that?"

"Forgiveness. And to truly forgive you have to put it in the past. She was probably glad you forced her hand to make her get it done that night."

"Maybe." JJ studies her wife's profile, noticing that she is singing softly to Henry. "All I know is she has been a better wife, better mother, better person since she put all that crap to rest."

"Good. May she continue to learn more from you about love than she learned from me and her mother."

JJ just smiles and pats Gerald's hand, her heart lighter than she would have imagined it could be considering where they are going.

* * *

The team watches the video of the robbery turned homicide that took the life of their friend and left the clerk at a convenience store fighting for his life.

"Right there," Hotch hits pause. "Did anyone else see it?"

Rossi nods. "Yes. His mannerisms changed when Will spoke."

"Damn it, why can't we have sound?" Morgan asks in frustration.

"If we can get better angles I could probably read his lips," Reid states.

"I'm working on it, Boy Wonder. It's an old system so I'm having to manipulate the angles myself and clean them up to make them viable," Garcia tells him.

"How long until they are done?" Hotch asks.

"Best guess, maybe another 2 hours."

"Keep at it." He looks at Kevin. "Keep weeding through the searches Garcia started on ex-cons in Will's life. We need to know every single player that could take the field."

Kevin nods. "Will do. Will also try to get prison logs for any that seem like high probabilities."

"Good." Hotch looks around the table. "Rest of you, wheel's up in 30. Let's try to get answers before Saturday."

The team nods and goes to get what they need to leave. It doesn't surprise Hotch at all that they are all on the jet ready to leave in just 15 minutes.

They haven't been in the air long when Garcia's like-crimes search finishes. No surprise, there are lots of unsolved convenience store robbery-homicides. Morgan glances at the information.

"Damn. Try weeding out ones where," he consults his case notes, "a .357 was used. A revolver."

Garcia types a second and then shakes her head. "Who the fuck knew that many would still make the list."

Reid sits up. "Filter out ones were law enforcement officers, lawyers, others in the LEO community where killed."

Morgan looks at him as Garcia adds the new filters. "What are you thinking, Reid?"

"The killer's mannerisms. He acted like a typical robber right up until Will spoke to him. Then he…he seemed to calm, then turned and fired 3 times center mass taking Will down. He then turned and shot the clerk twice."

Morgan nods, seeing where Reid was going. "He started out, then stepped back and grabbed the bag of money as if he had forgotten about it. Could have been nerves or it could have been that the money was secondary to the shooting. He made sure Will would die of the wounds. Even the clerk's shooting was secondary. He probably didn't know the guy had already triggered the silent alarm and shot him to buy time to get away."

"Could…this have been an execution?" Reid postulates.

Morgan locks eyes with the genius. Both men are trying to come up with another scenario that could make sense with what they had seen on the video. Morgan finally looks over at Garcia.

"Tell Kevin to hurry up with the con list. If Reid's theory is right the answer to what happened to Will is in those names."

"What are you thinking?" Hotch asks, walking up to them.

Reid quickly lays out his theory. Hotch studies the two profilers and the analyst sitting in the center of the jet. He nods.

"It's a good theory. But it is _only_ a theory. It would be easy, and perhaps more understandable, if we make this a revenge killing; if we just assume it was more than it was. For all we know this is a man suffering from D.I.D. and that explains the change in his mannerisms. It could be a random act of violence. Don't settle the case before we get there," he cautions.

Reid and Morgan exchange a look. Both had felt excitement at having an answer; both had been premature in their conviction that they had the right theory. But Dissociative Identity Disorder is also a valid reason for the change in the killer. Morgan runs a hand over his clean shaven dome.

"You're right, Hotch. It's…it's hard to temper this one and look at the case without bias." He glances at Reid. "I'll keep your ass in check if you keep mine."

Reid smiles. "Deal." He looks up at his boss. "Sorry, Hotch."

Hotch grins supportively. "Don't be. Got excited when I heard your theory, too." He takes a deep breath. "The powers that be will be watching us closely. Everything we do will be scrutinized much like it was after Foyet. Let's make sure we can stand on our record and on the case we help develop with no reservations. It will be hard as hell, I know, but treat this as if it's just another case."

Garcia sighs. "Any idea how we do that?"

Hotch sighs and shakes his head. "No. We'll just…have to figure it out as we go along. That said, when we land, Morgan go with Rossi to the scene. Check out nearby businesses and see if any have surveillance cameras that might have caught anything. Reid, you and I will go to the station and start to weed through everything Marty Florence and the other detectives have come up with. Garcia, see if they have anything that can aid your searches. Anything back from your height/weight program?"

"Nothing yet, sir. I just sent the final image that should help it give us a good idea of his height and weight. I think he's hunching a little to screw up the description so the program should be able to adjust for that."

"Excellent. As soon as you have it, get those parameters into your searches."

"Yes, sir."

"Emily texted me. She's getting JJ and her family settled in with Helen. JJ is going to help Helen today but Emily will meet us at the station."

"How was JJ's doctor's appointment this morning?" Reid asks.

Hotch smiles. "All is good. But Rocky still is pretty much convinced JJ ate the twins."

The team shares a much needed chuckle as they go back to working on their preliminary notes on this very personal case.

* * *

JJ and Helen exchange a firm hug. As it ends, JJ stares into her friend's eyes. "I am so, so sorry, Helen."

Helen nods, her breathing raspy. "Thank you. I still…I think I'm still in shock and probably denial."

"I'm not surprised," JJ admits.

Rocky comes running up the walk. "Hi, Au' He'en!"

Helen puts a smiles on her face and kneels down to get a hug. "Hi, Rocky. You are getting so big."

Rocky just nods. Henry comes racing up and Helen opens her arms to him. "Henry…oh, sweet boy."

"Where Daddy?" he asks immediately.

Helen eases him back and stares into confused blue eyes. "Henry, your daddy…he is…is in heaven now."

Henry pulls away and looks up at JJ. He frowns. "NO!"

He storms past Helen and JJ into the house, Alaska on his heels. Helen sighs and stands.

"You're right. He doesn't understand."

"He's three. How could he?" JJ asks. "But we'll do what we can to help him. Meanwhile, what can I do to help you?"

Helen shrugs. "I…I don't even know where to start. Marie is coming over to handle the New Orleans portion of the funeral. Can you help with the police side?"

JJ nods. "Of course."

"I know it's to be a celebration of his life; a party if you will." Helen takes a gasping breath. "But I just don't feel like partying."

She bursts into tears and JJ just pulls her into a hug. They stand together on the porch as the others carry bags and such inside the house. Francesca pats both ladies on the shoulder as she passes.

"Worry not about meals. I will take care of everything."

Helen gives her a sad smile. "Thank you, Francesca."

JJ wraps her arm around Helen's waist and they head inside. They hear Annabelle start to fuss and go into the living room to find the little one stirring.

"I think someone is hungry," Helen says. "You know, if I didn't have her I might lose my mind. I only worry she…she won't know him…" she chokes back a sob.

JJ squeezes her waist. "She will know Will, Helen. We have videos and stories and pictures. She will know him through all of us. I promise."

Helen just nods. JJ steps towards the crib to lift the little girl out but Rocky runs in front of her and stops her.

"No! No, Mommy! Time out!"

Helen looks at her in confusion as JJ bursts out laughing. "Rocky, I was just going to get Annabelle out so Aunt Helen can feed her."

"No! Mommy eat! No eat! Time out!"

JJ chuckles and picks up her daughter instead. "Okay, how about I pick you up and Aunt Helen gets Annabelle out?"

Rocky sighs in relief. "Si. Good, Mommy."

Helen chuckles and tickles Rocky. "You know, Rocky, if anyone had told me I could laugh again so soon I wouldn't have believed them." She kisses Rocky's cheek. "Thank you, sweet girl."

* * *

Emily finishes setting her suitcase and JJ's in the bedroom they will use then goes in search of Henry. She finds him in his bedroom under his bed. She lies down on the floor and stares at him.

"Hi. What are you doing down there?"

"Want Daddy."

Emily sighs. "I know you are so confused and hurting so much now, Champ. I wish I could get him for you. I really, really do."

"Em?"

Emily looks back and sees JJ walking in with Rocky. JJ's face falls as she realizes Henry is hiding from them; from the world.

"Oh, my poor boy."

"Ree?"

Henry crawls out from under the bed. JJ lies down on the bed with Rocky still in her arms. Henry clambers up on the bed with them and starts to cry. Hard, sobbing, choking tears as if seeing his daddy isn't at the house makes this nightmare become reality for him. JJ holds him close, her own tears leaking down her cheeks at his pain. Rocky pats her brother on the shoulder, quietly singing a song in hopes of making him happy. Emily kneels beside the bed, her hand stroking over his head, hating the feeling of helplessness stealing over her. She leans over and kisses both of her children. She looks at JJ.

"I need to go. We need…this done."

JJ nods. "I know. Call me if you all need me."

"I will." Emily kisses the kids again and then her wife. She walks downstairs and into the living room as Helen finishes breastfeeding Annabelle. "Helen…"

Helen looks up at her. "Thank you for being here, Emily."

"No problem. Anything I can do let me know."

"My guess is you are on your way to the station to meet up with the team." Emily nods. "Find this bastard, Emily. Please. Find him and get him convicted."

Emily hugs Helen and Annabelle. "I will do my damnedest. I swear it."

She kisses Annabelle on the head then hurries from the house. She finds her father waiting with the limo that had delivered them from the airport.

"Need a lift?"

"Yes." Emily says, anger in her voice. "I have to find this bastard, Dad. For Henry and Helen and Annabelle. I will not rest until I do."

He takes her by the shoulder. "Clear the anger from your head, Emily. You know as well as I do if you let anger dictate your emotions you've lost before you've even begun the game."

Emily takes a deep breath. "Right. Right. Okay. Right. Shit. Tell me how I let go of the anger after finding my son hiding under a bed?"

Gerald sighs and shrugs. "I don't know. But if anyone can figure it out it's you. That's the one thing I am sure of."

Emily smiles. His confidence in her settles her somehow. "Thanks, Dad. I think I needed to hear that."

"Good." He kisses her forehead. "Now, let's get you to the station so you can try to bring this nightmare to an end."

Emily nods and gets into the limo. Time to turn off Mama and turn on Agent; time to get justice for Will and Henry.


	5. Chapter 5

Emily walks into the room the team will be using to track down Will's killer. She offers a smile to Reid.

"So, solved it yet?"

Reid gives her a small grin. "I wish. How's Henry?"

"Angry. I left him sobbing in Jen's arms. He's so…so confused and angry. He doesn't understand. It's like he thinks we're hiding Will from him."

Reid nods. "I can see why he'd think that."

"When we got here, Jen called and said he was asking for Dad. I have a feeling he's going to gravitate towards his grandfather because of his frustration with us."

"Are you okay with that?"

Emily nods. "I am. Whatever gives him comfort and…and whatever he needs right now."

"Good. If he needs anything let me know."

Emily smiles at him. "Thanks, Handsome. I'll make sure to have him call Uncle Spence if he needs to."

Reid smiles and gets back to his reports. Emily grabs a stack of backgrounds Garcia had printed out and starts to read through them, hoping to find a thread to pull.

* * *

Morgan slowly steps into the convenience store. "So, Will stopped here if he had to pick up something on the way home but it wasn't a regular stop for him."

"Right," Rossi agrees. "Gives more weight to the random act of violence angle."

"True. Unless the killer counted on that so nothing definitive there yet." Morgan studies the store. "Four cameras but one wasn't working. Did the killer know that?"

"Doubtful. Unless, of course, he had damaged it or this is an inside robbery job."

Morgan nods in agreement of those two scenarios. Rossi walks back to the coolers where Will had gone to pick up a gallon of milk.

"So Will is back here as the unsub enters. With his back to the doors he wouldn't have seen a masked man enter." He glances around. "In fact, even if he turned here he would have no clear view of the counter."

"So he hears the demand for money, puts the milk down, undoes his holster to give quick access to his gun, and slowly approaches the front of the store." Morgan stands as if he is the unsub as Rossi walks in Will's footsteps. "From here, I can't see you until you come around the end of that gondola," Morgan notes.

"And that is when I get my first look at you, too," Rossi confirms.

Morgan keys up the video feed on his tablet. The unsub continues to yell at the clerk, who seems to be so flustered he can't do anything. Will steps closer, his hands raised in a non-threatening manner and starts to speak.

"The unsub seems to calm down when Will speaks. Is it because another identity takes over or because he has finally figured out where his target is located?"

"We need to know what was said," Rossi states. "Is the clerk conscious yet?"

His answer comes from someone by the doors. "No. And there is still a question of whether he will wake up at all," Detective Todd Baylor replies.

Morgan offers his hand as the Army Reservist walks over. "Welcome back from overseas."

"Thanks. Back a week now. Was supposed to start back to work on Monday. No way in hell was I going to enjoy a few more days off when Will is…is…fuck, man."

Morgan nods. "I get it. So the clerk may never be able to help us."

"Nope. I've got two cops talking to businesses up and down both sides of the street to see if anyone has video that could help us."

"Good," Rossi says. "We've got Garcia doing deep backgrounds on anyone who may have had a grudge against Will in case he was targeted. That would explain why he calmed when he heard Will speak. She'll then start to look into medical records for someone possibly suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. That could account for his change in mannerisms, too."

Baylor nods. "Good. Needless to say you all have access to a few more databases than we do."

Morgan smiles. "And thanks to Garcia access to some we probably shouldn't be able to see."

Baylor grins. "Don't ask, don't tell. Sometimes there is a good reason for that sort of mentality."

"Damn right," Morgan agrees. He sighs, staring at the blood pool on the floor. "This is a nightmare."

Baylor and Rossi both nod. What more could be said? Random act of violence or an execution…did it really matter when a friend and colleague is dead?

* * *

Hotch nods as the press officer runs down the rumors and innuendo the various news outlets had been running with: gang hit, gang robbery gone bad, stranger in town killing people, really the standard fare of misinformation the press runs with to get ratings and ad sales.

"Any chance you all can make a statement? Settle some of this?" the press officer begs.

Hotch nods. "We can. Set something up for 4. That will give them time to get the reports ready for the 5 o'clock news and us time to go over everything we have," Hotch explains.

The press officer thanks Hotch as the agent leaves. He is nearly back to the conference room when the police captain gestures for him to come into his office. Hotch steps in and closes the door when the captain gestures to it.

"What can I do for you, Captain Mueller?"

The man's face is saggy and his hazel eyes tired. "Been behind this desk a month and a half. Right now I am damn ready to call my predecessor up and tell him to come take it back."

Hotch gives him a small smile. "I don't blame you."

"What can you tell me?"

Hotch shrugs. "Not much yet. We have several theories we are looking at while we gather more information. Truth is, Will was on the force for many years. As was his father before him. If this was a revenge killing we'd have to track down which LaMontagne was the object of hatred. If it was random…well, no need to quote the statistics to you."

"No, not at all. I was robbery before I took this desk. Was there for more than 15 years. Sometimes my cases crossed with homicide as we tracked down some of these bastards down. But…"

"You have a theory of your own?" Hotch presses.

Captain Vance Mueller studies the ceiling for a second. Finally he sits forward and meets Hotch's dark chocolate eyes. "I've watched the video more times than I can count. He didn't act like a typical stick-up man. He didn't appear to be drugged out or drunk but he was frantic. Then he calms himself down when he hears Will speak. The bastard almost smiles like…like he found his target. Hotchner, I think that bastard was targeting Will. Otherwise his actions and mannerisms don't make a damn bit of sense to me."

Hotch studies the man a moment. This is not a wish or a whim. This is a detective using his knowledge to come up with a viable avenue of investigation. Hotch slowly nods.

"Key it up for me. Walk it through the way you see it."

Mueller pulls it up on his computer. When Will appears, he hits pause.

"Now, see, the way this fuck had been acting, Will's appearance should have startled him or…or at the least he should have spun his gun that way. He doesn't. He calms and look at his face…he's smiling. None of that is right. This guy was too calm at the end."

"We also noticed the unexpected reaction to Will. We have speculated he could have D.I.D. and a secondary personality took over when Will inserted himself into the situation. That would explain the oddity."

Mueller nods. "Okay. Sure, I can see that. Does that happen often?"

"Not very. A lot of defendants will try to use it to defend themselves but most times they are proven to be perfectly fine mentally."

Mueller sits forward, a thought in his head. "Say…what if some schmuck Will put away tried to use it but it failed? Maybe he takes jail time to study up on it and then sets Will up when he gets out. Maybe stalks him a few days until he gets him in the right place at the right time to kill him?"

Hotch thinks a moment before slowly nodding. "Good theory. I'll make sure Garcia filters for anyone who failed using that defense. We'll look at them closely and what they did once they got to jail."

"Good. Anything you all need, you will have. My department is at your disposal until this guy is caught."

Both men stand and shake hands. Hotch then hurries down to the conference room to give Garcia yet another search to run and another filter to add to her current ones.

* * *

Morgan and Rossi are with Baylor looking at a small TV showing the outside camera's from a clothing store down and across the street from the convenience store. It has a perfect shot of the parking area.

"Okay, there's Will," Rossi points out.

They watch as Will enters the store and another car pulls in and parks beside his.

"No plate," Baylor notes.

"Nope," Morgan sees.

They watch as a man steps out of the car. He studies the back end of Will's car a moment.

"Checking the plate number?" Morgan asks in surprise.

"Looks like it," Rossi answers.

The man pulls out his gun, glances around then enters the convenience store. They fast forward the feed until they see the shots inside. Back at regular time they see the unsub walk out and calmly move to his car. He pauses a second, head whipping up.

"He hears the sirens and realizes the clerk managed to trigger the alarm," Baylor surmises.

"Yeah," Morgan nods.

The man puts his gun in his coat pocket and tosses the bag of money…into Will's car!

"What the fuck! Did anyone check his car?" Morgan demands.

Baylor shrugs, already dialing Florence to let him know.

"That son of bitch didn't even want the money. Just took it so the concentration would be on robbery gone wrong," Rossi concludes. "Then tossed it in Will's cruiser knowing that when it was eventually found it would throw a wrench into the investigation."

Morgan nods. They watch as the man drives calmly out of the lot in one direction and a moment later the first police cruiser arrives from the other direction. Morgan and Rossi stop the feed and look at each other.

"The target was either the clerk or Will," Rossi starts.

"It was Will. Three shots center mass? That's pretty damn deliberate. If it was the clerk why not make sure he's dead?" Morgan points out.

"Could he have ditched the money in case he was caught?" Baylor asks.

"Nope. He kept the gun, kept his mask," Rossi answers. "Those are important to him. The money meant nothing. It was either personal revenge or…or someone paid him well to pull this off."

"Want to bet that car is destroyed? Either by the unsub or he left it in an area that crime would deal with it," Morgan notes.

Rossi shakes his head. "Not taking that bet."

Baylor hangs up his phone. "Will's car is in the impound lot. It's considered part of the crime but hasn't been processed yet or returned to service."

"Let's go do it," Morgan suggest. He looks at the store owner. "Thank you for letting us watch this." He hands him a card. "Please send a copy to this email address."

"Anything to help, Agent Morgan," the owner agrees and prepares to send the file to Garcia.

The two agents and the detective leave to go look through Will's car for the money from the robbery and for anything else that can give them insight into this heinous crime.

* * *

The team weeds through paperwork and reports until nearly 8 that evening. The money had been found and it, as well as the bag it was in, was being processed. Being as the unsub was seen wearing gloves it is doubtful that they will get lucky on prints. Hotch runs a hand through his already mussed hair.

"That's it. Until we get more off all the damn searches we have going we can't do any more tonight. Let's- -"

His words break off as a man opens the door and walks in. Though the team has never met him his outfit and manner in which he carries himself says "FBI Agent" to all of them.

"Hi. Sorry to interrupt but I think I can offer some help," he states. He offers his hand to Hotch. "Chief Hotchner, I'm SSA Ed Mink out of the New Orleans office. A bullet in your case popped an alert into several of mine." He takes a deep breath. "You guys are looking for an assassin. And maybe if we work together we can finally find this fucking bastard." He glances at Emily and Garcia. "Apologies for the language, ladies."

"Sounded appropriate to me," Emily notes as Garcia nods in agreement.

He grins and turns back to Hotch. "So, any chance I can insert myself into this investigation?"

Hotch gestures to the table. "Pull up a chair and let's talk."

The man nods and sits down.

"This guy has at least 30 kills under his belt throughout the Gulf area. Same gun every time, different m.o."

"Is it always cops?" Morgan asks.

"Nope. Has killed attorneys, defendants, plaintiffs, and even an insurance investigator. Thing is we cannot tie these victims together. We don't know how they find him or how they pay him. Hell, we don't even know for sure who hired him."

"How do you know he's an assassin and not an angel of mercy?" Emily asks.

"One of his victims didn't die right away. Lived long enough to say he thanked his gun for another job well done," Mink explains.

"Sick son of a bitch," Rossi mutters. "So is that the only reason you know he's a contract killer?"

Mink nods. "Yes. That and, well, I know it's not scientific, but a hunch. These people have absolutely no connection to each other except that they ended up the victim of the same damn gun. And with them gone the cases they were involved with went to hell." He taps a finger on the table to stress his belief. "This unsub is an assassin and if we don't find him he _will_ kill again."

Hotch looks around at the team and sees they are intrigued. He nods. "You have us convinced. Get us any info you can." He looks at Garcia. "Run those victims again as well as those that would benefit from their death. No stone unturned."

"On it, sir." She looks at Mink. "Can I assume you have a flash drive for me?"

He grins and slides one down the table to her. "I've heard about you, Ms. Garcia. If there is info to be found I know you can find it."

Garcia's grin widens. "Oh, you are so sweet and smart and honest."

Her team chuckles. Hotch looks around the table.

"I stand by the fact that we need to step away tonight. Once Garcia loads those names we'll have another pile of reports to go through. I can guess none of us got much sleep last night. Let's try to change that tonight. The rest of you are dismissed. Garcia, I'll stay with you until you get that information uploaded. Prentiss, there is an SUV outside for you to use."

"Thanks, Hotch."

"See you all at 7," he says, dismissing the team.

As the group walks outside, they all look at Emily.

"How's Helen?" Rossi asks.

"Still in shock mostly. But she is fighting through it for her daughter and for herself. She knows Will wouldn't want her to wallow."

"If she needs anything, tell her to call," Reid offers.

Emily smiles and pats his arm. "She knows. Trust me, she knows."


	6. Chapter 6

Emily climbs in her SUV and aims for Will's house. She prays Henry has started to come to terms with his new reality. When she arrives she sees the Jareau's RV parked in the driveway.

"Good. Maybe between them and Dad Henry will start to see that things will be okay since he doesn't quite trust me or Jen yet."

She gets out and makes her way inside. She hears laughter coming from the living room and is glad to hear it is Helen. She sets her briefcase down and walks in. Sandy and JJ sit on either side of Helen on the couch while Gerald and Alan sit in armchairs.

"Hi."

The group turns and stares at Emily…before bursting into laughter again. Emily blushes.

"Why do I feel like I don't want to know what has you all laughing so hard?"

JJ gets up and walks over to her wife. She pulls her into a hug. "I love you."

"Jennifer Prentiss, what story did you tell?"

JJ grins. "What makes you think I told it?" Emily just lifts an eyebrow. JJ giggles. "Sand crab on our honeymoon."

Emily blushes again. "Oh, geez, Jen…really? How cruel can you be?"

Helen chuckles. "I have to say, Emily, picturing you spinning around with that thing hanging off the butt of your bikini really gave my heart a lift."

Emily rolls her eyes. "Then I guess I can be okay with Jen telling it. Though I do reserve the right to get my revenge later."

JJ grins and kisses her quickly. "Deal, sweetheart."

They walk farther into the living room and Emily greets Sandy and Alan. "So are you two sleeping outside?"

Alan nods. "It will just be easier. On Saturday we can move the RV to the Walmart parking lot to give added room in the driveway for after the funeral."

Emily glances at Helen. "So, uh, all is…set?"

Helen nods, appreciating when Sandy reaches over and takes her hand. "Yes. Marie took some pictures of Will to blow up for the memorial service. She also knows a great band for the after party."

Emily frowns in confusion. "After party?"

JJ squeezes her waist. "In New Orleans you party to celebrate a life well lived. The funeral will be sad, that's unavoidable. But even the eulogies will be filled with fun anecdotes. The graveside will be the saddest part considering the police bagpiper and the flag ceremony. Will's death is being considered in the line of duty since it appears he was trying to keep the situation from escalating the way it did." JJ notices the flash in Emily's eyes, though no one else does. She will have to press for info later. "But once we leave the cemetery, no more tears." She glances at Helen. "Or very few." She looks back at Emily. "We'll have all the New Orleans favorite foods at the local VFW Hall as well as a band playing jazz and other city standards. We will smile and drink toasts to Will and we will thank him for gracing our lives."

Emily smiles and nods. "Sounds…perfect."

"We've already spoken with the local police incident commander who will handle all the escorts and other force aspects," Gerald explains. "Will was a very respected officer and several jurisdictions have already committed to sending motorcycles and cruisers to honor him. He'll have a fine send off."

Sandy pulls Helen into a hug. "Even though in our hearts we'll all wish it wasn't needed. Then family will come back here for one final toast to his life."

Helen nods. "I…I don't know what I'd do without you all here and without Marie. This morning I felt like I was losing my mind. Now…now even though my heart is torn in half I feel like I might actually find my footing soon. I know I have to for Annabelle but I wasn't sure how I was going to do it. Thank you all so much for being here for me."

Alan smiles at her. "You're family, Helen. There's no place else for us to be."

JJ looks at her wife. "So, did you eat?"

Emily nods. "Hotch got us po'boys. But I could use a water."

"Right this way."

JJ leads Emily into the kitchen so Emily can get a bottle of water. The blonde stares at the brunette.

"It really is line of duty, isn't it?"

Emily nods and tells JJ about the other kills by the same gun. "Garcia has all the names running tonight in databases we probably shouldn't even know exist. There has to be a connection somewhere. We find it, we find the killer."

"And if she doesn't?"

Emily slowly shakes her head. "I won't even contemplate that. Failure isn't an option." She takes a deep breath. "Can I assume Francesca is up with Henry?"

JJ nods. "He pretty much doesn't want anything to do with me or Helen. I think he even got frustrated with Gerald since his father still hasn't appeared. He barely said a word to Mom and Dad. How do we reach him, Em? How do we…help him?" JJ's eyes are full of unshed tears.

Emily pulls her wife into a firm hug. "We just keep loving him, Jen. It's all we can do. We love him until he is ready to love us, too."

JJ just nods. Emily goes upstairs to change and see if she can get Henry to speak to her. She taps on the door of his room. She sees Rocky is already asleep on an air mattress on the floor. Henry, however, is awake and lies with Francesca who is reading him a story.

"Hi, Champ." He just waves at her. She sits on the end of the bed and smiles at him. "Aunt Franny reading you a good story?" He shrugs. Emily sighs. "Henry…I…I just…I love you."

Henry turns and cuddles up to Francesca. Emily reaches over and pats his leg.

"I won't stop loving you, Henry. I will be here when you need me, okay?" He still doesn't answer, just pats the book to ask the nanny to keep reading. Emily looks at Francesca. "Thank you."

"It will be okay, cara. Just need some time."

"I know. Ti amo," Emily says as she stands.

"Ti amo, cara."

Emily goes to get changed. As she slips into flannel sleep pants and an old Redskins tee she had stolen from JJ she takes a moment to slip an envelope out of her briefcase. She sits on the edge of the bed and stares at it.

"Damn you, Will. I'd say this jinxed you but it has been so long it couldn't have." She takes a deep breath. "I already love him as if he is my own blood. That won't change. And I promise he will know you. I swear he will know you as I knew you. And he will know his sister and his step-mother and his life down here. But I also swear, if your Aunt Jolene tries to hurt him or JJ I will show her no mercy."

She tucks the paper in the back of her pants and uses the shirt to hide it. She plans to give it to her father in case Jolene shows up while Emily is working the case. There is no way that woman will take Henry from this house. No. Fucking. Way.

* * *

Emily sits up immediately when she recognizes the noise. She slips out of the bed and hurries down to the room with the children. She steps in and sees Henry sobbing, his face tucked into Alaska's scruff.

"Oh, Champ," Emily whispers.

He looks up and sees her. For a minute she thinks he's going to ignore her but instead he reaches his arms out to her. She hurries over and lifts him up into her arms. He clings to her and sobs into her shoulder.

"It's okay, Henry. Oh, sweet boy, it's okay."

"M- -M- -Mommy," he stutters out.

Emily stands. "She's just down the hall. Let's go see her, okay?"

He just nods as she walks down the hall, Alaska behind them. In the bedroom she sets him on the bed and he crawls over to JJ. Emily strokes her wife's head. She hates waking the pregnant woman but it is necessary.

"Jen, Henry needs you, baby."

JJ's eyes immediately open. She sees the tear stained face of her son. "Oh, Henry."

She pulls him close as he starts to cry once more. "No…dead?" he questions with a shaky voice.

JJ stares into his eyes. "No, Henry, I am not dead. I am right here."

She holds him close as he settles against her. Alaska jumps up on the bed and cuddles up to his back. Emily runs a hand down the dog's back.

"Hey, buddy, this is only a queen bed. You need to scoot down to the foot of the bed."

Alaska does so and Emily curls up behind Henry, her arm covering her son and her wife. As Henry still cries a little she starts to sing the lullaby that has always calmed him. He snuggles even closer to JJ. Emily kisses the back of his head as her hand caresses her wife's belly. Soon Henry is asleep and Alaska is scooting up closer to his young master. Before long he has reinserted himself behind Henry and the little boy's hand is entangled in his fur for comfort. Emily, however, is on about 3" of bed. She grins and gets up.

"Don't get used to this, fur face," she whispers as she ruffles Alaska's hair.

She grabs a blanket off the foot of the bed and moves to the glide rocker and accompanying ottoman. She should be fine in there for one night. If Henry and Alaska need JJ the next night, Emily will have to make use of the little boy's bed. She stares at the two blondes cuddled up asleep.

"I love you both so much."

* * *

The next morning Emily and JJ are finishing their coffee when Helen enters the kitchen. She smiles at them.

"Good morning."

Both agents see the circles under her eyes and know she had another restless night.

"Oh, Helen," JJ says sympathetically.

Helen shrugs. "What can I say? It hurts more at night when I don't have the baby or you all to distract me. I just lay there thinking about him and…and trying to convince myself he'll be home soon so I need to get some sleep. Nothing works so I sleep in fits and starts. Add in getting up with Annabelle and, well, I probably have a good number of sleepless nights in my future."

"I wish we could do something to help you. You need your sleep," JJ points out.

"I think…I think I'll be able to sleep after Saturday. I think…until then it's not…not final…or real or something." Helen shrugs. "Or maybe I am losing my mind."

Emily pats her shoulder. "You're not losing your mind. You're grieving. And there is no timeline for grief. Take as long as you need."

Helen squeezes her hand. "Thank you." She takes a deep breath. "Promise me if…if you have a break you will call me? Please?"

Emily nods. "Of course. It may take a few days but once we have a viable suspect you will know. I promise."

Helen nods her thanks and goes to brew herself a cup of decaf tea. Emily and JJ head out to the SUV. JJ studies her wife.

"What about Jolene?"

"Dad is on her," Emily replies. "I gave him Will's directive and told him if she turns up here feel free to call the police and get her arrested."

JJ smiles. "Sounds like fun. Would love to be the one to slap the cuffs on."

Emily grins. "Me, too."

The women chuckle and drive on. Along the way, Emily gives JJ a full run down of what had happened the day before.

* * *

Garcia had checked email while she dressed. She gets excited when she sees the email back from Cryptology. They had been able to clean up the video even better than she could and had supplied a full transcript of what was said from the time the killer had entered the convenience store. She quickly emails it out to the whole team, knowing they are all eager to read the words, refine the profile, and take another step closer to the unsub.

"We'll find you, mother fucker," Garcia mutters with uncharacteristic venom. As she walks out of her hotel room she runs into Morgan. "Did you check your email?"

"Not yet," he replies.

"We have the transcript. That bastard knew Will's name, Morgan. He knew it and was waiting for him and just killed him!"

Morgan stares into furious eyes. He places his hands on Garcia's shoulders. "Calm down, Baby Girl. We are all angry and we all knew in our hearts that is what we were going to find out. This bastard made a mistake. His other kills were in isolated situations. Here he had cameras and even left a living witness. His mistake and our work will lead us to him. Believe that. Clear that pretty little head of yours and be the clear-headed goddess we need you to be, okay?"

Garcia takes a deep breath. "Right. Thanks, Derek."

He puts his arm around her shoulder and walks her towards the elevator. "No thanks needed, Baby Girl. Something tells me we'll all have a moment of crazy on this case."

"Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "I really hate funerals."

"We all do." He kisses her on the temple. "We all do," he reiterates.

* * *

When the team comes together at the police station they have all take time to peruse the transcript. JJ shakes her head as she reads it once more. Though it has no exclamation points, JJ can hear it and see it in her mind as if it were a movie.

_Clerk: Can I help you?  
__  
Killer: Money in the bag. Now!_

_Clerk: Yes, sir!_

_Killer: (waving the gun frantically) HURRY UP!_

_Will: (stepping out from around a gondola, hands in a non-threatening position) Easy now, friend, no one has to get hurt. Sid will get you your money._

_Killer: (demeanor immediately calms) Do you call everyone friend, Will?_

_Will: (frowns in confusion) Do I know you?_

_Killer: (smiling behind his mask) No. And you never will.  
_

_Will's hand goes to his gun but the killer is too fast. He turns and shoots Will 3 times in the chest. Before Will hits the ground the killer turns and fires twice at the clerk. He starts out the door, pauses, turns back and grabs the money.  
_

_Killer: Palsy take but will be a good distraction._

_He continues out the door._

_End Transcript_

"The money was of no consequence. It and the shooting of the clerk are just distractions," JJ states aloud.

Rossi nods. "Looks like it."

Hotch walks in, pocketing his phone. "Clerk is awake. Morgan, Prentiss, go talk to him."

The two agents nod and hurry out the door. Hotch looks at JJ.

"Someone leaked that this was potentially a hit on Will. Are you willing to take the media lead on this or would you like me to do it?"

JJ takes a deep breath, rubbing her stomach. "I can't be in the field helping. May as well stand behind a podium and do some good from there."

"Good." He turns to Reid. "Have you finished a geographic profile of the linked kills?"

Reid nods. "Yes. It is strange that all the previous kills were done in privacy. No one saw anything, nothing caught on video. Then this one he does in a convenience store? Makes no sense."

"The others were definite hits," Rossi points out. "I've seen plenty in my day. This one was set up to look like a random act. Why? And if it wasn't for the transcript from Cryptology we could still be looking at it that way. Without that we'd have nothing to show that this was planned out."

Hotch turns to Garcia. "The key to all this is in Will's past. Keep Kevin looking into the links between the other hits. I want you to stay on Will's life." Garcia nods. "Reid, Rossi, let's profile the old hits. Even if they don't tell us who the killer is they can tell us more about him. JJ, get with the spokeswoman and get the assassination crap out of the news. We don't want to tip our hand too much."

JJ nods. "Random act of violence. Just looking into all angles to be thorough since an officer died," she states.

"Exactly," Hotch agrees. "By noon I want us all together for a status update." He glances at his watch. "Mink should be here by then with anything else he thinks can help us track this bastard down."

The team immediately gets to work. There is a sense of frustration that they can only go over reports, old case files, and other intangible leads. They can only pray that somewhere in the reams of information is that one little scrap that can point them in the right direction.

* * *

Sidney Cobblepott slowly shakes his head. "Just a regular night, you know? I been knowing Will for 'bout 4 years; ever since I started working nights. He didn't come in every night but most nights. Usually just needed bread or milk or a drink. He even intervened a couple times when people were being assholes or somethin'. All he did was tell the guy to calm down. He ain't go for his gun or anything."

Morgan nods. "We saw that. And were you upset he didn't try to stop the robbery?"

"Hell no. He knows I don't keep more than 100 bucks in the register. I get anything bigger than a $10 at night I drop it. Don't even keep $20's. My life is worth more than a C-note. People know it, too. I don't set myself up for shit, you know?"

Emily smiles. "Smart man. Tell us, based on his height, mannerisms, or any scar or anything, do you think you saw the man that shot you before?"

Sid thinks for a second. He slowly shakes his head. "I really don't think so."

Morgan holds up a video still of the getaway car. "What about this car?"

Sid shrugs as much as he can. "Hey, it's pay at the pump. Who the heck sees the cars anymore?"

Morgan gives him a smile. "Good point. Is there anything you can remember, anything that stands out in your head as strange or something? Something that may not have been specifically asked by the police?"

Sid slowly shakes his head. "Nothing, man. Sorry. Just…the only thing is I keep thinking about Will's kids. He thought his daughter hung the moon and he is…was crazy about his son. They gonna be okay?"

Morgan glances at Emily and sees she can't answer. He looks back at the hospital bed. "They'll be fine. They are with family now and are coping as best they can. Thanks for asking." He hands Sid his business card. "If you think of anything else, no matter how insignificant it may seem, give me a call."

"Will do, man." Sid shakes his head again. "Just a damn shame. Shouldn't have happened to him. Just fucked."

Emily pats the man's leg. "Yeah that about sums it up."

The two agents walk out into the hallway. Morgan just pats Emily on the shoulder, knowing she wishes there was a better answer to give regarding Henry and Annabelle. By the time they reach the car Emily has compartmentalized it all again. Her best friend studies her a moment.

"Have you…cried yet?"

Emily rolls her eyes. "Why the hell does everyone assume you have to cry to get closure or something?"

Morgan shakes his head. "Don't go there, Emily. You know you need to cry to get rid of all the emotions, cleanse your heart of the hurt and sadness." He raises his hand to stop her next statement. "And before you say you can't cry in front of Henry or JJ, I get that. I do. Say the word and I distract them or send Garcia to distract them and you can have a cry for your friend and for the changed world your son is facing. Deal?"

Emily smiles and takes his hand, squeezing it. "Deal. Thanks, Derek."

She takes a few deeps breaths as Morgan's phone begins to ring.

"Yeah, Hotch?" he answers. He listens a second. "We're just leaving the hospital now. We'll head to the impound next." He listens again. "Clerk didn't know much just that he didn't seem to recognize the guy and that Will didn't do anything to escalate the confrontation." He nods. "Will do." He hangs up and looks at Emily. "Police found the car."

"Where?"

"Known drug zone where most cars end up stripped. By a stroke of luck, vice initiated a raid on a house the night Will was killed. The car was in front of the house and taken to the impound as they thought it belonged to one of the guys they busted."

"Son of a bitch," she mutters.

"Exactly. Hasn't been processed yet but a team is on the way to it now. Hotch wants us there with Baylor to profile anything they find."

"What do you want to bet there's not a damn sign of our killer?"

"Sucker bet, Prentiss. Big ass sucker bet."

Emily just nods as they drive in silence to the impound, each praying for one mistake, one slip up that can help them.

* * *

JJ stares out at the gathering of reporters. It had been a long time since butterflies filled her stomach when she addressed such a group. This time it wasn't because of what she was going to say it was because of who was going to see it. Helen, her own parents, Emily's parents, Marie, people that loved and respected Will.

Will.

JJ takes a deep breath and tries to flip the switch that turns on the media liaison within her. When she speaks, Hotch watches from nearby, impressed to see the professionalism shine through.

"Thank you for coming today. I am SSA Jennifer Jareau with the FBI. We are here at the request of the N.O.P.D. to assist in tracking down the man who murdered Detective William LaMontagne, Jr. and critically injured Sidney Cobblepott two nights ago. I know earlier there was speculation in the media that this was an attack against Detective LaMontagne. At this time, we are investigating all potential reasons for the attack from a simple robbery gone wrong to a targeted attack. Nothing has been determined as yet but as soon as we have a definitive direction we will be asking the public for help." She holds up a photo of the car. "We do have a car that has been linked to the robbery-homicide. We are currently processing it for evidence but would like anyone who saw it that night or recognizes it to please contact us. We need to know if it was stolen and used in the crime or if it was sold to the suspect. If you have any information that can help us track down this cop killer, please call the hotline at 800-555-4488. Are there any questions at this time?"

Several people start to yell questions at JJ. Just like she used to do, she waits until she hears one she wants to answer before responding.

"At this time there is nothing linking the murder of Detective LaMontagne to a drug bust done that same night."

More questions are yelled out.

"His wake will be open to the public this evening as will his church service tomorrow. However, the family is asking for privacy at the graveyard for the interment. Information on the ceremonies and road closures for the funeral procession are available at the office of public information and has been posted on the N.O.P.D. website."

A few more questions are hollered at her.

"Again the investigation is ongoing. At this time I have nothing more to impart and the questions all appear to be things I have already addressed. As soon as we have more information I will be in touch with the media outlets. Thank you."

JJ turns and walks back into the building. She makes her way right to the bathroom. She splashes some cool water on her face then stares at her reflection in the mirror. Her stomach has not been this upside down since she was a rookie. She splashes water on her face again. Letting her head hang and the water drip off into the sink.

"You did a wonderful job out there, Jennifer."

JJ's head whips up. She hadn't even heard the door to the bathroom open.

"Elizabeth."

"Just got into town and decided to stop in for a rundown on what's going on so far. I caught your press conference. You are quite the speaker. I am impressed with your ability to compartmentalize your turmoil and address the vultures."

JJ manages a smile and turns around. "They teach us that in media liaison classes. Glad to see I haven't gotten rusty." She grabs a paper towel and wipes off her face. She sighs. "I thought I was going to throw up. Haven't been that way since my first address what seems like a lifetime ago."

Elizabeth pulls her into a hug. "You looked and sounded completely put together, Jennifer. No one outside your family would know how torn up you are over the loss of Will."

"Thank you for saying that." JJ loops her arm through her mother-in-law's and they walk out of the bathroom. "Come on and we'll let you see what little we know."

* * *

Emily and Morgan watch as CSIs dust the car all over for prints and scan if for traces of blood, gun powder residue, and anything else they can process. Morgan taps one guy on the shoulder.

"Have you done the trunk yet?"

The man frowns. "No. According to the report the suspect was only in the interior."

"When he was at the store. Before or after he could have been in the trunk. We need to check it."

The tech rolls his eyes. "That will take forever!" he whines.

Morgan grabs him by the collar. "A cop in YOUR town is dead because of the bastard that drove this car. You really want to go back to your boss and the other techs and all the cops and say you couldn't be bothered to check the trunk for evidence? Really?"

Whether it is the words he says or the fury in Morgan's eyes the tech just steps away and grabs another guy to help him start to process the trunk. Morgan moves back to Emily's side.

"Thank you," she says.

"You don't have to thank me for making them do their job."

"I'm thanking you for intervening before I punched the fucker out," Emily says with a grin.

Morgan chuckles. He takes a deep breath. "What if…if we don't catch this guy? If he's a real hitman, been doing this for years, he's well covered."

Emily nods. "I know. And…and I don't know what we will say to Henry or Helen if we can't find this bastard. I don't think I've felt so helpless since we were investigating Amy's death."

"I second that. I hate that it's mostly paperwork and nothing to really investigate. I'll be glad when we narrow in on some people to talk to and- -"

"Uh, agents?"

Morgan and Emily look over at the tech who hadn't wanted to check the truck. The apologetic look on his face says it all.

"I think we have something," he says. "It was caught between the cargo net and the back of the trunk. If it's the killers he may have dropped it and never noticed it."

They walk over and Emily takes the bag in his hand. She lifts an eyebrow.

"Hotel key envelope. Not high end, not low end."

"Perfect for someone who doesn't want to be noticed," Morgan concludes as he pulls out his phone. He checks the address. "About 20 minutes from here."

"Let's go."

Emily hands the evidence back and the two head out, a stirring of excitement within them as they may finally have solid, tangible lead.

* * *

"Uh, Agents?" Those in the conference room look up at the officer at the door. "There's a guy out here says he sold the killer his car."

Hotch looks at Reid and Rossi. "Go."

The two agents get up and hurry down to the interrogation room where a nervous, middle-aged man awaits them. Rossi gestures to a chair.

"Please, have a seat. I'm Agent Rossi, this is Dr. Reid with the FBI. We understand you sold this car to this man?" Rossi slides 2 pictures towards the man.

The guy runs a hand through his hair. To say he is nervous is an understatement. Reid sits down across from him.

"Sir, if you are worried the man might come after you we can offer you protection."

The man wrings his hands together. "It's not him I'm worried about," he mutters. He takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I sold that car to him. $800 cash. He didn't even care that I didn't have the title."

"Why didn't you have the title?" Reid presses gently.

"Oh I am so fucked," the man mutters some more. "Look, just…let me explain. See, my wife…uh, ex-wife, she took me for everything. And then she causes a stink where I work and I get canned. I just needed a little money to get back on my feet. And she was out of town so I figured I'd be out of Louisianna before she even knew it was gone and- -"

Reid holds up his hand. "Wait a second…are you saying you stole your wife's car and sold it to this man?" He taps the suspect's picture.

The man groans. "It sounds so much worse when you say it that way but, uh, yeah."

Rossi sighs and sits down. "You're doing the right thing by coming forward and that will help you but you'll have to come clean with your wife and the cops about the car. In the meantime, what can you tell us about this man?"

"Well, he was real nicely dressed. I was surprised he'd even look at that old beater but he said he wanted to use it for parts. That's why he didn't need a title. I swear: I had no idea he was going to kill a cop."

"We believe you. Now did he have an accent? Or a scar? Or anything that made him stand out at all?"

The man thinks a second. "He kinda had no accent. Like, I could tell he wasn't from here but it wasn't a New York accent or even one like yours. It was like…like…weirdly plain."

A man who purposely lost his accent, Rossi tells himself. "You said he was well dressed. What kind of clothes?"

"Uh, a suit. Even a tie. Wore leather gloves and real nice leather boots. Got out of a real nice ride. Old muscle car. Camaro or Mustang or something. Pays me, takes the keys, said he'd be back for it later. Told him it just needed to be gone by morning. When I checked the next day it was gone and I figured I had my revenge." He runs a hand through his hair. "My bad fucking luck I end up having to turn myself in a'cause of that wench of an ex."

Reid and Rossi exchange a look. The despondent man had given them some very useful information. The agents stand and walk out to the main room. Captain Mueller, who had been watching the interview, shakes his head.

"If that don't beat all."

Rossi grins. "Well said. This guy is sounding more and more like a professional. I'm going to contact our Organized Crime Unit and see if they know anyone who fits this description. That muscle car could be something someone has made note of."

Mueller nods. "Good. I'll have this guy processed for stealing his ex-wife's car."

"Keep him in custody. Let him know it's for his own safety. If this unsub really is a professional hitman and finds out this guy talked he'll do what he needs to do to shut him up," Rossi cautions the captain.

The man nods. "Will do. Good job, Agents."

Rossi and Reid go back to the conference room to let the others know what they found. They want to get Garcia investigating the muscle car angle even though they will also go through official channels to ask the OCU about it, too. Nothing will be done without an official paper trail. When they catch this fuck, and there is no doubt in their minds that they will, he will not get off on a technicality.

* * *

Emily and Morgan are nearly at the motel when her phone rings. Recognizing a generic Quantico number, Emily frowns in confusion.

"Prentiss."

"Agent Prentiss. Barney Hessel."

Emily winces, barely suppressing a groan. She had forgotten all about him and his job offer. "Uh, hi. I, um…"

"I was wondering why I hadn't heard from you but then I found out about your stepson's father. I am so sorry."

"Thank you. It's been tough for Henry; for all of us."

"I imagine it has been. So, um, have you had a chance to think about my offer? I really think you could help me build a team as good as the one you're on."

Emily is pinching her nose as Morgan pulls into a parking space. "Honestly, Hessel, I haven't had a chance to think about it. We had the Alabama case and then came home to this. I haven't had a chance to talk to my wife or…look, if you need an answer right now it has to be no."

"Let's not be hasty. I don't need an answer right now. When you get back from New Orleans at least sit down with me and talk it over, okay?"

Emily sighs. "Yeah, sure. I can do that. But I have no idea when that will be."

"I have time. See you whenever you get back, Prentiss."

"Right. Bye."

Emily hangs up and stares at the phone in her hand. Morgan studies her a second.

"You okay?"

Emily shrugs. "I guess so."

"Why was Hessel calling you? Or can I guess?"

Emily turns and stares into concerned eyes. "You probably already guessed. He wants me to be his second on the team he is building."

Morgan gives her a smile. "That's huge, Emily. Congratulations."

"Yeah. Maybe."

He stares into her eyes a moment. He turns the car off and sits back in his seat. "What's going on under that brunette rug?"

Emily chortles. "Rug? Bastard." He grins. She sighs. "I had wanted to talk to you as soon as I heard but you were on vacation. Then I was going to talk to Jen when she got home from the preliminaries of the last case and…and kept finding a reason not to. Then this happened with Will and…and…shit, the only person I did actually talk to other than Hotch was Garcia and she was happy for me. I think I wanted her to threaten things that would destroy my family for years to come if I took the job." She takes a deep breath. "It's a hell of an opportunity, Derek. What the fuck do I do?"

He reaches over and takes her hand. "Emily, let me first say I would hate to have you leave this team. But when it comes to the job, I have no doubt in my mind you could do it and Hessel and his new team would be lucky to have you. However, if you haven't bothered to talk to me, you kept thinking of reasons not to talk to JJ, and you wanted Garcia to threaten you, that all says a lot. For whatever reason, your heart isn't in to taking that job. Is it fear of the unknown or a real desire to stay on this team?"

Emily is chewing her lip as she considers his words. She rolls her head on the headrest to look into his eyes. "What do you think?"

"I think you have to figure that out on your own, Em. And I think in your heart, you know what your decision is," he adds.

Emily sighs. "Yeah, yeah I do." She opens her door. "Come on, let's get this lead checked out."


	7. Chapter 7

Hotch stares at the frustrated face of his agents as they await Morgan and Prentiss. He can see anger, fear, grief, so many emotions that normally don't colour them all. Sure certain cases hit different agents a little harder but he can think of only one other time that the entire team was so emotionally involved. He sighs.

"_Hailey, please help us_," he thinks to himself. "_Help me figure out how to clear their hearts and minds to stop this man before he kills again._"

He glances around once more, this time meeting the steady gaze of Dave Rossi. The older man just lifts an eyebrow, a subtle inquiry as to whether Hotch needs to talk or not. Hotch lets out a breath and leans forward on the table, turning his attention from his mentor. Before he can speak, Morgan and Prentiss walk in. He looks hopefully at them.

"Lead?"

Emily shrugs. "Manager confirmed the guy stayed there. No i.d. taken because he paid in cash. Nothing remarkable about him. Even his accent was very plain."

Rossi nods. "Matches what our car salesman said. I think he at one time had an accent of some sort and forced himself to lose it."

Hotch nods. "That would make sense. But what doesn't is he still has a bit of flash to him. Rossi, you said he had a muscle car?"

Reid responds instead. "A classic one. I showed our witness some pictures Garcia sent but he just wasn't sure what it was. Was torn between an old Camaro and an old Mustang."

"Shit," Hotch mutters. He notices JJ has been very quiet all afternoon. "JJ, anything good from the tip lines?" he asks to draw her into the investigation.

JJ shakes her head. "Not really. I had a couple that I called but I think it was more people hoping for a chance at the reward by turning in a jerk they know than having real information on Will's ki- -," she has to clear her throat. "Will's killer."

"I was afraid of that." He pats a stack of printouts in front of him. "These are from OCU. Guys, let's start to weed through them to see if we find anything that clicks. JJ, Emily, I think you all need to go?"

Emily studies her wife a moment, noticing that JJ is just staring at the table. Emily looks back at Hotch. "Yes. We need to get the kids ready and the funeral home wants to speak with Helen and us about what will be happening tomorrow and what Henry will need to help him get through the day."

Hotch nods. "Okay. We'll see you in a couple of hours. If you need anything give us a call."

Emily nods and stands. She pats JJ on the shoulder. The blonde takes a deep breath and stands. She takes a moment to stare each man in the eyes.

"Thanks for…for everything."

Rossi gives her a wink and a supportive smile. "Anytime, kid."

After the women leave, Hotch stands and shuts the door. "There was something I haven't told JJ or Captain Mueller in case it means nothing." He takes a deep breath. "Will helped arrest a man suspected of killing his wife. The man has ties to the Garibaldi crime family in New York."

"Oh, fuck," Reid mutters.

"Word on the street is he's got nothing to do with the crime up there but it is something we'll have to look into very carefully."

"So if Will is dead the guy could get off?"

Hotch shakes his head. "Doubtful. But it could delay the trial and maybe even get the guy a favorable deal. Mink is delving into that with OCU's help. If it starts to look like a viable lead, Rossi, Morgan, you'll head to New York on Sunday to meet up with Mink and whoever OCU sends." The men nod, glad they will not be sent away until after the funeral. "That said, we don't stop looking at other possibilities. Garcia, what do you have on parolees or families of inmates?"

"I have finished pulling anyone from Will's career that could use a look and I know you didn't ask me, but I'm also looking into his father's history. Someone may have gone after Will since his dad is dead."

Hotch nods. "Good idea. I was going to suggest you do that next. Kevin still helping you?"

Garcia glances at her watch. "For another 30 minutes then he has to leave to get to the airport. After that he'll help me down here on Sunday and if anything pops up tomorrow that has to be checked into. He flies back to Virginia Sunday night."

"Okay. Let's dive into the information in front of us and see what we can find in the next two hours. Then we'll head to the hotel to change and go to the wake."

The team nods and gets to work.

* * *

JJ is very quiet on the drive towards Helen and Will's house. Emily just holds her hand, knowing she'll speak when she's ready. It takes five minutes for JJ to finally admit what she's thinking.

"It could go cold, Em."

Emily nods. "I know. But we'll tear up every rock, stone and pebble before we let that happen."

"Yeah." She takes a deep breath. "I really wanted to tell Helen we had a solid lead or…or…or something."

"Me, too. And the guys and Garcia will work up until the last possible second before the wake and something tells me they will work some more when they get back to the hotel tonight. We will fight to make sure Henry has answers, Jen. I promise you."

JJ lifts Emily's hand and gives it a kiss. "I know. I love you, Emily."

"I love you, too, Jen."

When the women walk into the house they hear Henry crying. JJ sighs as they move towards the living room. They find Alan rocking the little boy in his arms as they sit on the sofa.

"Hey, Champ, you okay?" Emily asks.

"Want DADDY!" Henry hollers.

The women sigh, both had been hoping the little boy had a boo-boo. That they can fix; that they can kiss and make better. But this…this grief and anger over something he is too young to understand is hard to fix. JJ walks over and sits down beside them on the couch. She strokes a hand over his blonde hair, so much like her own.

"I wish I could help you understand this, Henry. I am so, so sorry."

Henry stares at her a moment then throws himself at her. Alan lets him go as she pulls her son close. The little boy cries on her shoulder as she pats his back. Emily leans against the doorframe, there if either of the crying blondes need her. Alan stands and moves to her side. He squeezes her arm comfortingly.

"He has had good moments and bad all day. You just happened to get home during a bad."

Emily runs a hand over her head. "I just…gosh, I wish I could help him, Alan. We feel so helpless."

"We all do, Emily. We'll just have to do what we can for him for however long it takes."

"I know. Still hate it."

He gives her a sad smile. "Me, too." He walks away, leaving the three to try to help themselves through this moment.

Emily walks over and sits down beside her wife and son. She strokes a hand over his head.

"I love you, Champ," she whispers.

"Love," sob, "Mama."

JJ smiles and kisses his forehead, glad to see part of him is in there somewhere behind the grief.

* * *

An hour later Emily walks into the bedroom holding Rocky. JJ smiles at her wife and daughter.

"You two look great."

Rocky grins. "I bootiful."

JJ chuckles and gives her a kiss. "You sure are, Rock Star. You sure are."

Emily studies her wife a moment, grinning. "You do know he's laughing at you, right?"

JJ rolls her eyes. "I know, I know. Let's go."

Emily, giggling a little, follows her wife out of the room and downstairs to meet up with everyone. Helen sees the trio and smiles.

"You know, JJ, Will always said he'd have to make a bet with you to get it to happen."

"I didn't even think a bet would get her to do it," Alan states.

JJ rolls her eyes. "Are we going to harp on this all night?"

"I believe so," Sandy answers with a smile. "And maybe even the rest of the year."

JJ sighs and looks down at the Saints football jersey she wears. "I just hope the Redskins never find out."

Emily chuckles and pats her on the shoulder. "I won't tell if you won't."

JJ just nods as they all go out to get into the SUV and Helen's minivan to drive to the funeral home for the wake. And just as Will had requested, all his family is wearing Saints jerseys as they prepare to celebrate his life. He wanted laughter, football and fun, no tears. They all knew they could handle the first three requests with no problem but that last part was going to be tough. Emily glances into the rearview mirror at Henry. Though he had finally stopped crying he had also gotten very quiet. She takes a deep breath.

"I love your new jersey, Champ. Looks great." He just shrugs. She thinks a second. "Maybe before we go home we can get you one of their white jerseys so you'll have the home and away ones." He shrugs again. Emily glances at JJ.

"Thanks for trying," JJ whispers. "He just…needs…needs…"

Emily takes JJ's hand and squeezes it. "I know. Whatever he needs he'll get if it's in my power."

JJ smiles and kisses her wife's knuckles. "I know."

* * *

Emily carries Henry, JJ carries Rocky and Helen carries Annabelle. The three women had asked for a private moment alone with Will so their children can see him one last time. As they walk towards the open casket, Rocky holds her finger to her lips.

"Shhh! Unca Will s'eepin'!"

JJ kisses her cheek. "Yeah…Uncle Will is sleeping," she chokes out.

Helen just reaches over and runs her hand over the little girl's dark curls. Emily is studying Henry's face as he stares at his daddy. He is frowning. He reaches a hand towards Will, but then pulls it back. He finally looks at Emily.

"Daddy?"

Emily nods. "Yes, Henry, that's Daddy."

Henry looks back. Will lies in his coffin. He wears a white button down shirt, his Saints jersey visible below it. No jacket or tie because Helen said he didn't like them in life and she wouldn't make him wear them in death. Helen reaches a hand out and strokes her husbands' cheek.

"I love you, Will. Belle and I both love you so much," she whispers.

Rocky studies Helen a moment then looks at her Mommy. "Why Aunty He'en cry?"

"She's sad that Uncle Will is in heaven now."

Rocky frowns. "Him there. S'eepin'."

JJ sighs. "He's…he's not…he's…"

"Daddy dead, Rock. Him our angel now," Henry explains to his sister.

Rocky looks from her brother to her "uncle" and then to JJ. "Him angel?"

JJ nods. "Yeah, Rock Star, he's our angel now."

Rocky's blue eyes well with tears. "No! No want him to be angel!"

Emily watches as her son and daughter burst into tears, followed closely by Helen and JJ. She can only hold Henry close and whisper words of comfort to him as JJ and Helen try to help each other and Rocky. After a few minutes, Helen leans out of the embrace she and JJ are sharing.

"Despite all…all this, I am so glad you are here for me and Belle. And for Will. Thank you so much for…for everything."

JJ squeezes her around the waist. "I'm just sorry we have to be here at all." JJ turns to her wife and Henry. "Henry, you okay?"

Henry just shakes his head as he cries on Emily's shoulder. Emily just gives her wife a shrug.

"Do you want to…to say…or…" JJ's voice trails off, not sure what to ask her son.

"Champ, want to say goodbye to Daddy?" Emily asks softly. Henry shakes his head. "Okay. Maybe we can come back and see him later." Emily looks at the women. "He has to do it when he's ready, be it this weekend or years from now." JJ and Helen nod. "We'll step out for now."

Emily and Henry leave the room. JJ steps up to the casket.

"He'll know you, Will. I promise you he will know you and we will do our best to raise him to be a man you are proud of." She strokes a hand down his cheek. "And we'll find who did this. I swear it. I know I'm not supposed to make those types of promises but I don't care. We'll find him. I don't care how long it takes I will never stop looking." She takes a deep breath. "And if you come back in my dreams to tease me about wearing this jersey I will never forgive you," she adds with a smile, glad to hear Helen chuckle at that statement. "I love you, Will."

"Love Unca Will," Rocky adds.

JJ smiles and turns around. She pats Helen on the arm and walks out to give the woman and her daughter a moment alone. Helen steps up to the casket.

"I love you, Will. And I know last night I cussed you out for leaving us this way but…but I do love you. I always will. And I am so proud of you as a cop. They've told me that until the end you were trying to serve and protect. You are a good man and a good cop. And I am so, so glad I am your wife. I'm not saying anything past tense. I am your wife, William. And I always will be. Just as you will always be a cop." She chuckles a second. "Something tells me if heaven has a police force you've already got your new badge and are ready to work. You'll make us all proud up there as you did down here." She takes a steadying breath. "So, uh, if at times I get mad at you and curse you for leaving us just know…know that my attitude will pass and that anger is really me just telling you how much I love you and miss you." She leans over and places a kiss on his cheek. "I will always love you, Will. Always."

She brings her hand up and wipes away the bit of lipstick she had gotten on him. She straightens out a stray lock of his hair. She studies his face, memorizing each line, scar, and contour. She then gives their daughter a hug and turns to go let the funeral director know he can open the wake to everyone now.

* * *

From the time the doors had opened there had been a steady stream of visitors. Cops, firefighters, friends, people that Will had helped during his time as a beat cop and as a detective. Alan and Sandy were taking care of Rocky, letting JJ help Helen with Annabelle while the widow did her best to greet everyone. Gerald had taken it upon himself to keep an eye on both women, fetching them water, extra tissues, and whatever else they needed.

Henry has attached himself to Emily, refusing to speak to anyone or go to anyone else. He had gotten a bit overwhelmed by all the people so Emily had walked him down to a room just for family. There she stares out at the backyard of the funeral home as she bounces him gently and sings to him. They have been in the room for about 20 minutes when the door opens. Emily turns and smiles.

"Mother."

"Hi, sweetheart. I'm sorry I missed you at the precinct."

"That's okay." They hug. "Thank you for coming, Mom."

Elizabeth pats Henry's head. "My grandson needed me, right Henry?" He nods. "Where else could I be." She gives him a kiss on the cheek. "I was told to tell you Jack Hotchner is here, Henry. He said he'd like to see you when your feel up to it. You know, his Mommy is an angel now, too. He can probably tell you what to do when you get sad."

"Okay," Henry whispers.

Elizabeth smiles. "I'll go find him. Be right back." She pats Emily on the shoulder and heads out to track down the youngster.

Emily kisses Henry's cheek. "I love you, Champ."

When she hears the door open again, she turns expecting to see Elizabeth and Jack. Instead she stiffens as she sees Jolene LaMontagne. The woman's pinched face could be viewed as grief. But the glint in her eye speaks to hatred. Emily decides to assume the best if only for Henry's sake.

"Jolene," she says by way of greeting.

The woman reaches into her purse and pulls out an envelope. "My lawyer was going to have this delivered. I told him I would do it myself. I am planning to get custody of Henry and raise him here among his true family."

Emily wishes Henry wasn't in her arms so she could say what she wants to the woman. Instead she tries to maintain her temper…barely succeeding. "How dare you bring that up here and now. Does Will's wish mean nothing to you? Can you really dismiss what he wanted so easily?"

"My nephew was misguided and led astray long ago by that blonde harlot."

Emily stiffens. "Watch how you refer to my wife," she warns.

Jolene takes a step closer, holding the envelope out. "Take it."

"No."

"Don't make me- -"

"Excuse me."

Jolene and Emily turn to see Elizabeth standing in the room. The ambassador looks at her daughter.

"Jack and Jessica are in the children's room down the hall. Perhaps you could take Henry there?"

Emily nods stiffly. Without a word to Jolene, she walks past the woman and leaves. Jolene waves the envelope at the agent's retreating back.

"Take this!"

Elizabeth shuts the door behind her daughter and grandson. She then turns and levels a dark glare on the severe-faced woman.

"This isn't over!" Jolene threatens. "Don't think you can come down here and throw your money and- -"

"Gertrude Pettibone," Elizabeth interrupts.

"- -get some judge to ignore the devil your daughter and- -what did you say?" Jolene sputters.

"I make it a habit not to repeat myself," Elizabeth replies. "Needless to say, if that paper and your legal action don't disappear immediately, many people will be saying that name alongside yours over and over."

Jolene's face gets even more pinched, something Elizabeth wouldn't have believed possible. "You wouldn't dare."

"I don't make idle threats. I make promises," the ambassador assures her. "Rest assured, you cause that little boy or my daughters any unnecessary pain or suffering and you will be setting yourself up for humiliation and pain like you can't even imagine. Now, if you can't be civilized this weekend as we say farewell to Will I suggest you leave now." She steps into the woman's space. "Because rest assured if you cause any problems at this wake or tomorrow, you will have more to worry about than Gertrude Pettibone."

Elizabeth does not wait for a response. She turns and walks out of the room. She tracks down Alan, Sandy and Rocky to see if the Jareau's need a break from the little one.

Across the room, JJ's eyes narrow as she sees Jolene hurrying towards the front doors. She looks at Marie.

"Why is Jolene leaving?" she asks suspiciously.

Marie frowns. "I don't know. But at least if she isn't here I don't have to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't cause problems for you and Emily."

JJ smiles. "True. Thanks, Marie."

"No problem."

* * *

Emily sets Henry on the ground and watches him walk over to Jack.

"Hi, Jack."

"Hi. Wanna color?" Henry nods and they two boys sit down, choosing crayons from a big bucket and a colouring book. "My Mommy is an angel like your daddy."

Emily and Jessica exchange a look. Was that too blunt for Henry?

"I don't want Daddy to be an angel."

"I didn't want Mommy to be an angel either. It still makes me sad sometimes. But me and Daddy and Aunt Jessie talk to her and we watch videos and stuff. And sometimes Mommy comes to me in my dreams to tell me she loves me. That makes me feel happy and sad at the same time."

Henry exchanges a blue crown for a black one. "Do you think she is lonely?"

Jack shrugs. "I don't know. Daddy says there are other people Mommy knows who died and she probably is with them. He also said she knows your daddy so I figure they can hang out and watch over us together now. Now I know she won't be lonely."

"So it's okay if Daddy is with her?"

Jack nods. "Yeah. They can colour and play cars and stuff."

"Cool," Henry says. He thinks a second. "And they won't forget us?"

"Nope," Jack answers. "They are in our hearts and that means they can't forget us because they will always feel our love for them. Mommy tells me when she comes in my dreams she loves me and that she feels how much I love her and it makes her very happy."

Henry sighs. "I can't sleep good. And I get bad dreams."

Jack takes a yellow crayon. "When Mommy first became an angel I had bad dreams, too. But they got better. And Daddy and Aunt Jessie are always there to help me get past them if they come back."

"I gots Mommy and Mama and Aunt Franny. They help me, too."

The boys continue to colour and talk. Jack tells Henry about the memory candle and other things he does to help remember his mother. Across the room, Emily and Jessica are leaning up against the wall.

"Jessica…thank you so much for bringing Jack. I…we were…we…"

"I know. I felt the same way after we lost Hailey." Jessica smiles. "She was always our rock. I surprised myself when I suddenly developed her stone interior to help Jack and Aaron through the aftermath." Emily smiles. "I won't lie to you: you still have some tough days ahead. But it will get better. Just hold him when he cries, love him through the tantrums, and don't take it personally when he demands Will instead of you."

Emily wrings her hands together. "The first two are easy. The third hurt when Will was alive and he had a tantrum. Now that Will is gone I…I don't…" she just shakes her head.

Jessica takes one of Emily's hands. "You couldn't love him more if you tried, Emily. Will you make mistakes along the way? Sure. But I know you won't intentionally hurt him. It's not in you. You'll figure out how to weather all this. And I am just a phone call away if you have any questions."

Emily squeezes the woman's hand and smiles. "Thank you."

Jessica just nods. "Now, how about you go check on JJ and Rocky. I'll stick with these guys. If I need you I'll find you."

"Okay. Thanks again."

"No problem."

Emily walks over and squats down beside her son. "I'm going to go check on Mommy. Aunt Jessica is going stay here with you and Jack, okay?"

Henry gets a worried look on his face. "You come back, right?"

"Yes, I'll come back. Promise. And if you need me before I get back here Aunt Jessica will help you find me, okay?"

Henry stands and gives Emily a big hug. "I love you, Mama."

"I love you, too, Henry. Very, very much."

She kisses his cheek and smiles as he gives her a kiss, too. Then with a deep breath she gets up and goes out to check on her wife and daughter.

* * *

JJ smiles when she sees her team walk into the funeral home. All of them were wearing Saints jerseys, even Hotch. She walks over and gives them each a hug.

"You guys look great," she tells them. She studies Hotch carefully. "You know, I half expected to see a tie on over the jersey."

Everyone laughs as Rossi pats Hotch on the shoulder. "I convinced him his head wouldn't fall off if he left the tie in the hotel room."

"I'll sue you for everything you have if you're wrong, old man," Hotch threatens with a grin.

"How's Henry doing?" Reid asks.

JJ shrugs. "Ups and downs, as expected. Right now he's down in the children's playroom with Emily, Jessica and Jack. Hotch, thank you so much for having them come out here. I think it will really help Henry to talk to Jack."

Her boss nods. "I hope it does."

"Hey, guys, looking good," Emily praises as she walks up.

"You, too, Princess," Garcia tells her.

"Any new developments after we left?"

"Nothing solid," Morgan replies with an air of disgust. "This guy is still a ghost."

"Ah, but he is a ghost caught on camera. We'll find him. He made two mistakes: he was filmed and he took the time to speak to Will enough to tell us he was hunting him," Rossi points out. "According to Mink he had never been filmed so fully before and had never taunted his victim."

Emily's eyes narrow. "Then why Will? Why do two things so stupid this time?"

"When we figure that out we'll know who he is," Hotch states. "Now, let's all turn it off for now. Tonight it's about Will, Helen, Henry and Annabelle."

The team nods in agreement. As one they make their way up to the front of the room where Helen stands near the casket containing her husband. They all give her a hug and extend their condolences, offering her whatever they can to help her get through this time.

"Just…find me answers," she pleads. "That's all I need. Answers."

Hotch squeezes her hand. "We'll do our best."

Reid stands staring down at Will. Morgan walks up and claps him on the shoulder. "You okay, Pretty Boy?"

"It's just…hard. I have thousands of statistics in my head concerning death for law enforcement officers, deaths during convenience store robberies, the length of grieving cycles and the personal entanglements that can affect that cycle but…but they don't make me feel better. The chaos of sadness is still in my heart as if my head can't communicate properly with the rest of me."

"Reid, it's called grief. Stats mean nothing when it's a friend or family member," the older agent states softly.

Reid nods. He reaches forward and touches the edge of the coffin. "Will…I…I wrote down every memory I have of you in chronological order. I will make copies of everything so your son and daughter both have it when they want it. And anything they ask me, I'll tell them. They will have my eidetic memory anytime they need it. I promise."

"Nice, Reid." Reid nods and moves away. Morgan steps closer. "Will, man, I just…I don't know what to say other than I am so sorry. I don't care how long it takes this case never ends for me until we catch the bastard. And anything Henry needs that I can give him I will. I am just so, so sorry, my friend."

One by one each member of the team makes their way to Will, promising him the same things that Morgan had. When they finish they start to greet some of the family members and police that they know from previous trips to the city.

* * *

"Mother, what did you say to her?" Emily asks.

"Emily, dear, you don't need to worry about it," the ambassador replies.

"Mother," Emily says warningly.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes. "I just informed her that she would be wise to drop her attempt to take Henry lest certain items become revealed that she would rather keep hidden."

"Items such as what?" Emily presses.

Elizabeth pats her daughter's cheek. "Plausible deniability, Emily. Accept it."

Emily rolls her eyes as her mother walks away. Then she smiles. "Thanks, Mom," she whispers.

* * *

Emily gives Francesca a hug and kiss as she walks into the LaMontagne house. "Are they all asleep?"

"Si, cara. Henry took some time but he eventually succumbed to exhaustion."

"Good," JJ says. "Thank you so much for bringing them back here earlier."

"There was no need for them to stay so late, cara," Francesca tells her. "But I can see in your eyes it did well for you all to stay and remember Will a little longer."

Helen smiles. "Yes, it did." She gives Francesca a hug. "Thank you so much, Francesca. You really are one of the kindest women I know."

"It was my pleasure, cara. Anything I can do to make your burden lessen."

Then women head upstairs to check on their children. Emily and JJ find Rocky spread eagle half hanging off her bed, covers everywhere on the air mattress. JJ chuckles as she kneels to resituate her daughter. Emily sees Henry is curled up against Alaska, his hand tangled in the kind pups fur. Alaska starts to wag his tail as Emily approaches. She runs a hand over his head.

"Thanks for taking care of our boy, Ska. You are a good pup. Yes you are." She then straightens Henry's covers and kisses him on the head. "I love you, Champ."

The women switch children, making sure they tell both kids how much they are loved. They then retreat to their bedroom. JJ glances at the clock.

"I can't believe it's only 11:30. Feels so much later," she notes.

Emily pulls her into a hug. "Emotional upheaval will do that to you, add in the fact that you're working Will's case and you're body is incubating twins."

JJ slaps her wife playfully. "Watch the incubation comments, woman."

Emily grins and kisses her wife. "Sorry, honey. Your body is cooking babies."

JJ laughs and tries to pull away but Emily holds her tight. "You're an ass, you know that, right?"

"Yep. But you love me anyway."

JJ pretends to consider it. "Well…maybe. You are kinda sexy so I guess I can keep you around."

"Good plan."

The two are sharing a needed, loving kiss when someone tugs on Emily's Saints jersey. She looks down to see Henry and Alaska standing there.

"Bad dream, Mama."

Emily kneels down as JJ puts a hand on their son's head. "Not good, Champ. Are you thinking sleeping with Mommy will help again?" Henry nods. Emily smiles. "Climb up there."

Henry and Alaska go get on the bed. JJ gets them tucked in. "Let me get my pajamas on and I'll be right back, okay?" Henry nods.

Emily sits on the side of the bed and starts to sing to him, her hand stroking over his head hoping it will help him get back to sleep. He is very close when JJ crawls into bed. He turns and snuggles into his Mommy's arms and drops off completely. Emily gives both blondes a kiss goodnight.

"I'll sleep in his bed tonight. Not sure this old body can handle another night in the chair."

JJ grins. "Okay. Goodnight, Sweetheart."

"Night, baby."

Ten minutes later Emily crawls into Henry's twin bed. She just barely fits. But this discomfort she will deal with if it means Henry gets a good night's sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Sunday morning the team gathers in the conference room at the police station. They day before they had all attended the funeral and had taken turns attending the family party after the interment. They had spent the other time combing through leads and requesting more information from Garcia and Kevin. The two analysts had also split time between the station and the services to keep things moving forward. Hotch studies his team carefully, profiling their state of mind.

It is true: funerals help people move on.

Their eyes are clearer, grief replaced by determination. They had immediately started to look at the piles they had left for themselves the day before. In another room, he knows Garcia and Kevin (until he leaves at 2) will be refining searches and trying to tie together tiny bits of information into a net they can throw over their unsub and bring him to justice.

He turns to the crime board. He stares at the man's image, pulled from the security cameras at the store. So far Garcia had been unable to match him to anyone in any database in the U.S. Hotch stiffens.

"In the U.S.," he mumbles.

He spins on his heel and stomps out of the room. The others watch him go, hoping the sudden departure means he has an idea that gets them closer to closure. He walks into the room Garcia is using.

"A witness said the guy sounded like he had studiously lost his accent. We assumed a regional accent. What if this guy isn't from the U.S.? What if he's some fucking mercenary from overseas? We know his mob ties are thin so maybe they were contracts, not permanent relations."

Garcia had started typing as soon as she realized what Hotch was implying. As he finishes his statement she looks up at Kevin.

"Check for websites, magazines, etc. that would have mercenaries for hire."

He nods. "Got it."

Garcia looks up at Hotch and simply lifts her eyebrows, not asking the question that shouldn't be asked. He nods: hack away. She grins and attacks her computers with a vigor she has when allowed to run unfettered through cyberspace. Hotch turns and goes back to the conference room.

"Garcia and Kevin are checking on a new angle I'd rather not discuss unless it pans out. In the meantime, what can we do today?"

Morgan sits forward. "I talked to Mink. I want to fly up to Shreveport. He's got two cases there, about 3 years apart. I want to talk to the detectives he worked with there and maybe look at what they have from the scenes."

"And I have someone I want to talk to another detective in Houston," Rossi says. "That was the kill that brought the FBI in fully. But looking at the victim, I have no idea why made him a target of an assassin."

"Need to fly there?"

Rossi shrugs. "I don't know yet. Maybe. I want to talk to him first. Something just doesn't sit right with me about that death."

Hotch nods. "Okay." He looks at JJ. "Statement ready?"

JJ is still typing. "Nearly done."

"Good. Press is starting to assemble for an 8:30 briefing. Good luck."

"Thanks."

"The rest of you, keep digging."

The agents nod and get back to weeding through tip lines and computer information, praying for the one bit of information that can help them close this case.

* * *

"Yesterday Detective William LaMontagne was laid to rest with full honours, as he deserved. His many years of service to the people of New Orleans are testament to the fine officers your community employs."

JJ takes a brief pause before continuing.

"At this time, the investigation into his death is still ongoing. Members of the FBI BAU team assisting the police are right now looking into connections across the Gulf States between Detective LaMontagne's death and others that have occurred. Due to those links, we are asking police and private citizens to contact the listed 800 hotline number if they feel they have anything that could assist in bringing this murderer to justice. We believe he has killed before using a .38 revolver. If that sounds familiar to anyone please call us as soon as you can."

She holds up a picture of the unsub taken from the security cameras.

"This is the man we are looking for. We are hoping someone may have access to a better picture. If any business owner recognizes, or thinks they recognize this man, please call us so we can access your security tapes to see if we can get a clearer image. At this time, I can answer a few questions."

Several reporters yell out some questions but she answers the one that angers her immediately.

"No, there is no evidence that Detective LaMontagne was doing anything illegal. His record is spotless as is the background check we run as standard practice when we begin an investigation. He was an honest, good man and to besmirch his record with such allegations only hurts his loved ones."

"Is it true you were having an affair with LaMontagne and that's the only reason the FBI is here?"

JJ hates that she feels the blush rise in her cheeks. "Detective LaMontagne and I dated several years ago. We were still friends and colleagues but his captain asked for our assistance or we would not be here investigating."

"But he is the father of your children," the reporter insists.

JJ swallows. "He is the father of my eldest child. That changes nothing about the investigation or the invitation that brought us here. Our team has twice before worked cases in New Orleans. We are familiar with the area, with the investigators we are working with, and those are the only things that matter."

"How many murders can you attribute to this killer?"

"An exact number is unknown as we are still finding links as we get reports back from various databases. However, we do know he has been active for years and are closing in on the method he uses to find his clients."

"So he's a paid assassin?"

"That is the avenue we are currently investigating though he could be just a mercenary thug trying to establish himself in the United States."

JJ mentally crosses her fingers. The last statement was planned with Hotch in hopes their unsub would take offense and contact them to correct the assumption that he was less than he appears to be so far. Everything tells them he is a skilled killer for hire. If he takes as much pride in that as they hope, if he is as narcissistic as they believe, he will not be able to let that subtle dig go unanswered. She answers a few more questions then calls an end to the press conference.

As she walks back into the conference room, Rossi smiles at her. "Well done, JJ."

"Thanks," she says as she drops into a chair. "I didn't prepare myself for questions about Henry or about Will and me."

"You handled it great, Jen," Emily tells her wife.

"Yeah, only a profiler would have noticed the jump in your carotid artery, the brief flush on your cheeks and the skip in your breathing pattern," Reid states encouragingly.

JJ grins. "Um, thanks. I think." She pushes her hair back behind her ears. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"You and Emily need to drive up to Baton Rouge. There is a detective there with information from a double homicide, execution-style, .38 used, matches our gun. He said he has more information than he can just fax or email," Hotch tells her.

JJ bites her lip a moment, hating the thought of being so far from Henry. Emily reaches over and takes her hand.

"It's only an hour and a half, Jen. We go, look at his info, copy what we need, come back."

JJ sighs and nods. "Right. Of course. Sorry." She looks at Hotch. "Sorry, just…hard to think of being so far away from Henry right now."

Hotch nods. "I understand. But I'm sending Morgan to Shreveport and Rossi is probably headed to Houston depending on a call he receives. I want Reid here to start mapping everything we are getting on this guy."

"I get it, Hotch. Just having a hard time turning off the personal this time. I keep…keep hearing the bagpipes from the funeral and the jazz from the party afterwards. Both just remind me my son is…is growing up without his Daddy."

Hotch looks at her sympathetically. "Trust me: I know."

JJ gives him a slight smile. "I know you do. And knowing that you get it helps me more than I can say." She turns to her wife. "So, give me a second to run to the restroom and then we can get going."

Emily nods. "Sounds good." After JJ leaves, Emily looks at Hotch. "She'll be fine."

"I know she will be. She's JJ."

Emily chuckles. "Yeah, she is."

* * *

Rossi walks in and starts to pack up his briefcase. "It's definitely our guy. Killed three people in 2 years. No connections I can find between the victims. One was awaiting trial for murder, one was a witness in a drug bust, and another was a private detective, whose files were burned. He did, however, have a computer that survived the fire but nothing could be pulled from it."

Hotch grins. "By their techs."

"Exactly."

"Take Kevin. Tell him he can stick down here with us until the case ends. I'll clear it with his boss."

Rossi nods and walks out of the room. Hotch walks over to Reid. The genius has just finished tacking a map of Houston up on the wall. It is a computer printout made up of four pieces of paper.

"Is it big enough?"

Reid shrugs. "I won't know until I start to plot points on it. For now, yes. If I need bigger I can take it to a print shop and get it enlarged."

"Good. I want- -"

"Hey, Hotch?"

Hotch turns to Todd Baylor. "Yes?"

"I've got a detective on his way in from Starkville, MS. He's on a plane right now with a file on three cases they have out that way."

"Okay good. When he gets here we'll talk to him in here."

Baylor nods and walks out. Hotch frowns a moment then turns to Reid. "Have you heard from Mink today?" Reid shakes his head. "We're getting an awful lot of hits on this guy in a relatively short time. How could he be searching for so long and still be so far in the dark? Especially with the ballistics from the gun being a constant?"

Reid thinks about it a moment. "It does seem highly unlikely that he could be this far behind."

Hotch pulls out his phone. "Garcia, run a search on SSA Mink. I want to know everything about him you can find."

"Yes, sir," Garcia replies, knowing if Hotch is asking for it there is a damn good reason not question it.

* * *

The drive north is silent for the first 30 minutes. Emily finally sighs.

"Jen…I…are you…" She takes a deep breath. "Shit."

JJ grins. "That about sums it up."

Emily thinks a second and realizes what her statement had sounded like. "Wait! No! No, baby, you are not shit. Fuck, I can't believe I said that. Thing is, I don't know what to ask you. So, let me start with: are you really okay making this trip?"

"Do I hate driving so far away from Henry? Yes. But at the same point, this drive can help us find answers about Will's death and that's important to Henry. He's with Francesca and our parents. He is surrounded by love and, well, I know how fast you can drive so I am sure you can get us back in 20 minutes if needed."

Emily chuckles. "Uh, good on everything but the last one. No high speeds with you three on board," she explains, patting JJ's stomach.

JJ covers Emily's hand with her own. "Good point. I have to say, it really was a beautiful day yesterday. I mean, the funeral part sucked because it always does but I think Will would have loved the rest of the way we celebrated his passing."

Emily nods. "I agree." She licks her lips. "Still can't get the taste of that damn crawfish out of my mouth though."

JJ starts to giggle. "Henry was so cute, showing you how to twist it and eat the meat."

"Sick and twisted that he does it so well," Emily mutters.

JJ giggles some more. "The look on your face when he pulled his apart, sucked out the juice then ate the meat was priceless, baby. Might have to get Garcia to isolate that frame and blow it up to 8x10 size. It will look great on the wall!"

Emily slides her a glance. "Do the words 'cut off for life' ring a bell to you?" JJ just giggles some more. Inside, Emily is thrilled to hear the lighthearted sound. Outside, she just frowns and grunts. "I see how it is. And I am sure Will is getting a good giggle out of all this, too."

"Oh, he most definitely is," JJ agrees.

The rest of the trip turns to business as they plan their strategy for getting information from the detective they are speaking with and what they will do with any evidence gives them a direct tie to the unsub they are hunting.

* * *

Garcia bustles into the conference room and shuts the door. Reid and Hotch are both concerned about the worry on her face.

"Sir, I finished the run on Ed Mink," she states.

"Okay. What did you find?"

"He's a highly respected and decorated agent of the FBI. He has been at offices in New York, Los Angeles and even overseas. He has been in New Orleans for 13 years now and plans to retire here in less than 2 years."

Hotch's eyes narrow as Reid breathes in sharply.

"Garcia, Mink is maybe in his mid-30's," Hotch points out.

"No, sir. Ed Mink is 64 years old and, unlike our Ed Mink, he is an African-American." Garcia hands him the print out of the agent."

Reid stares at the paper in Hotch's hand showing the real Ed Mink. "Then…who the hell is our Ed Mink?"

"Son of a bitch…the money man," Hotch answers.

Reid's eyes widen. "He wanted to see what we knew. And we fucking told him everything."

"Garcia, get the imposter's image off security tapes and- -"

"Kevin is already pulling that for us, sir, while they wait for their plane to Houston. I wanted it started before I came to report this to you."

"Good work. Reid, wait here to talk to the detective coming in from Mississippi. I'm heading to the local FBI office to see if the real Mink knows the fake." He looks back at Garcia. "Text me that image as soon as you have it."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Anthony Powell had spent Friday and Saturday camping and fishing with his oldest son. Now the kids were with his wife at her parent's house and he had stayed home to get ready for his next business trip. As he pulls his guns out of their hiding place, he turns the TV on to listen to the local news.

"…_evidence that Detective LaMontagne was doing anything illegal. His record is spotless as is the background check we run as standard practice when we begin an investigation. He was an honest, good man and to besmirch his record with such allegations only hurts his loved ones."_

Powell recognizes the name and glances up at the screen. His heart leaps into his throat as he sees a split screen with a very pretty blonde woman on one side and an image of him from the convenience store on the other side.

"Son of a BITCH!"

It doesn't take him long to realize the FBI knows more about him than they should. For starters, according to Jim Koresh all the cameras in the store were out of order. It was the perfect place to set up the kill because there would be no film evidence.

He grabs his tablet and starts to search about the death. His car had been found. Video surveillance had caught more of him even though Koresh had sword none of the surrounding businesses had outside cameras.

They had other kills linked to his gun all throughout the south. That was no big deal. His gun was unregistered and had passed through so many hands until it reached his he is not worried about that being traced to him.

But the other information…the other information tells him he's been screwed over.

"Koresh, you son of a bitch. You set me up. You fucking set. Me. Up." He growls.

He digs a phone out of his bag and calls the one number programmed into it. It rings and rings and rings. Koresh was obviously cutting ties. So what else had he given the cops? What was being held back?

"Time to go back to New Orleans. Time to find someone to tell me what they know." He stares at the TV. "Not you. They'd move hell and high water to find a pregnant Fed. But someone will know what's happening. And someone can let me know how close they are to finding me thanks to that bastard Koresh. And if that ass thinks he's going to live to see me in cuffs he's fucking delusional."

Powell quickly packs up the tools of his trade and gets a bag ready to go. Time to do some recon in New Orleans before capturing a Fed and then ending the life of an old friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Hotch sits down across from Unit Chief Edward Mink. The _real_ Edward Mink. The man is visibly shocked when he finds out why Hotch is there to see him.

"Bastard is using _my_ name? How the hell did he get my name?"

Hotch shrugs. "I don't know. Could be you've spoken to him for some reason. Could be he simply knew you were an agent and used that to make his own business cards." Hotch hands the man his phone. "Do you recognize this man?"

Mink stares at it a moment, then shakes his head. "Doesn't look familiar to me. Mind if I show it around to my guys?"

Hotch shakes his head. "Not at all." Mink texts it to himself and one of his agents, asking him to pass it around. "Have any of you been looking into a potential assassin or gun for hire here in the south?"

Mink shakes his head. "No. Let me guess: that's what your investigation is uncovering?"

"Yes. In fact, this Mink brought it to our attention, even had files on various kills. Everything he gave us looked legit. But by this morning we've found so many more than he had that I got suspicious and had our analyst run your background."

Mink grins. "Guess that was the alert I received."

Hotch nods. "Yes. I apologize but I wasn't sure if you were real or not. And I think part of me was praying the agent we had come to know was an imposter and not completely incompetent, which our investigation was starting to hint at."

Mink nods. "Understandable. What do you need us to do?"

"What you're doing now: try to find this man in your files, both open and closed. I believe he may be the money man for our killer, putting a filter between the man and whoever is hiring him." Hotch takes a deep breath. "And I think him killing Will LaMontagne was a way to make sure the FBI was called in. He then gave us the breadcrumbs needed to lead us towards the killer. I think if we don't move fast enough, he'll give us more clues, either directly, through the tip line or possibly even through this office."

"Well, I can put the word out that anyone who gets anything regarding LaMontagne's murder needs to get it to me and I'll filter it to you. That way I can maybe weed out the nutcases for you."

"That would be appreciated."

The two men turn as an agent walks up and taps on his boss' door. "Sir? I think I know this guy."

"Get in here, Verta."

The man walks in and nods a greeting to Hotch. "This guy came in about a month ago. He said he might have seen a murder. He was acting scared but, well, something wasn't sitting right. I started to think he might be trying to turn in a friend or family member without actually revealing he is the snitch. The more he talked the more I became convinced he knew more than he did but I was also sure if I pushed him he'd bolt."

"What sort of things was he saying?" Hotch asks.

"Well, he wanted to know what would happen if he knew a cop killer; could he be liable if he doesn't report it; what if it turns out to be linked to others; things like that."

"So he came here to ask that question. Why wouldn't he ask the local police?" Hotch ponders.

"Maybe he did," Mink interjects. "Maybe the locals mentioned the FBI helping out and he needed to know what our involvement would be."

"And he was probably glad when you all told him the BAU would most likely be called in and you all would be just here for support," Hotch points out.

Verta nods. "Actually, yeah he was. I kinda wondered why and then shrugged it off as he wouldn't have to show himself to your team so you would never know he tried to report someone."

Hotch looks to Mink. "This guy is smart. I had pegged him as mid-30's. Now I'm thinking he may be older or at least he was around a mentor that taught him a few tricks." He looks back at Verta. "And I can imagine he left you no contact information?"

"Nope. Not even after I pointed out that if a crime has been committed and he knows about it, he could be charged as an accessory after the fact if he does nothing. I let him go but followed him out to get his car info. He grabbed a cab."

"Damn. Too smart," Hotch notes. "I've got his picture running through every database we can access. If he's out there somewhere we'll find him." He hands a card to Verta and to Mink. "If he contacts you all again, please give me a call immediately. If dares to show up, detain him any way you can."

"We will," Mink promises. "His picture will be given to everyone, even the janitor. If he dares show up again we'll arrest him for impersonating an agent at the very least."

"Good." Hotch stands and extends his hand to both men. "Thank you for your time. I'll keep you informed on the status of this case."

"Thanks. Good luck, Hotchner."

Hotch walks out to his SUV and calls Reid. "Bastard posed as a witness to get enough info to plan the murder of Will. When we find him, and we will find him, he'll be charged with murder, too."

"Good. I've finished mapping out the Houston murders. No crossover that I can find," Reid reports.

"So we're back to it being a contract hit for revenge or to screw up prosecution."

"I believe so," Reid acknowledges.

"Damn. Any word from JJ or Prentiss?"

"Not yet. And Morgan should be landing any minute now so it may be a while before he calls us."

"Okay." Hotch glances at his watch. "Get Garcia and make her go to lunch with you. We don't need her burning herself out on this case. We need her at her best."

"Will do. What about you?"

"I'm going to swing by the hotel to pick up Jessica and Jack and take them to the airport."

"Oh. Right. Give them a hug for me."

Hotch smiles. "I will. See you in a couple hours."

Hotch hangs up the phone and tries to turn off Agent Hotchner for a little while and concentrate on being Daddy.

* * *

Anthony Powell sits in a stolen SUV across from the police station. Yes, it's risky but he needs to see who he's up against and determine who should be taken. He'd seen one man leave earlier and decided he would not be a good bet. The determined step and stony countenance told him the man would not break quickly enough to be of use.

Now he watches as two more agents leave. The tall lanky man looks like he could be easily taken down. But looks can be deceiving. He is armed and Powell can't risk getting shot if the man was more formidable than he appears. No way would he give Koresh the satisfaction of dying.

Now the woman with the man…she looks so anti-FBI he can almost believe she is a girlfriend not an agent. She has no visible sidearm but she does have her FBI badge hanging from her neck.

"So you're not a full agent, my lady. You may be just what I'm looking for. I'll see you tonight."

He turns his SUV on and drives away to plan how to take the woman and make her answer anything and everything he needs to know to protect himself and end Koresh.

* * *

A shame-faced detective stares into Emily's eyes. "I swear I pointed out to my captain that this gun had other kills on it. He said it was probably a gang gun and had passed through so many hands it would have more kills than a whole platoon of guns in Iraq. He wouldn't let me send an alert to the FBI or other precincts to be on the lookout for that gun."

Emily sighs. "I understand. Considering the nature of the murder it wouldn't be far-fetched to think it was a drug retaliation case. What can you tell us about the victims that isn't in the official reports?"

"The woman had been at a store when it was robbed. She is studying Criminal Justice at LSU and she ended up being a stellar witness for the prosecution. Her fiancé was at the store, too, but admitted he was too scared to remember much. I think…I think he was scared about something like this happening. I don't like to speak ill of the dead but he, well, he wasn't exactly coming across as a brave sort of man, you know?"

JJ nods, thinking about her time in a bank with a chicken shit agent. "I know exactly what you mean. Did they ever give any indication that they thought they were being followed or threatened?"

The man shakes his head. "Not to me."

Emily glances up from part of the police report. "They were found right at the water's edge under the Horace Wilkinson Bridge. Any significance to that area?"

"No. But we do know it's not a romantic hide-away so it is our assumption they were taken there and not just caught down there," he tells her.

Emily nods and makes a note on the paper. "What about signs of struggle?"

"Nothing. Site looked like they were marched down there, made to kneel, then killed. No cuts or bruises on either one of them."

JJ frowns as she reads part of the coroner's report. "They weren't killed at the same time." She looks up. "Did that seem strange to you?"

"Not when I saw he'd died first. Like I said, he was the weaker witness of the two. I think she was taken down there under the pretense that he might live if she went with the killer or killers."

"Just one killer," Emily insists.

"Well, yeah we know that now," the detective concedes.

Emily looks at him. "Should have known it then, too." She holds up crime scene photos of the ground. "Only two sets of footprints: hers and his. The killer erased his after he killed the man then walked back in his victims footsteps so he didn't leave any others." She points to the edge of the print. "You can see the slight impression made by the unsubs foot. It was smaller than the victims. If there were multiple perpetrators they'd have rubbed out all the footprints or left multiple sets knowing it would add confusion."

The detective takes the photos and studies what Emily had pointed out. "Well son of a bitch. We've been trying to match that tread pattern. No one thought it might be two treads in one."

"We're going to go speak with the suspected robber. His lawyer is meeting us at the lock up. Do you want to come or would your rather not? I will warn you he will be able to ask you to leave," Emily warns the detective.

"I doubt he'll talk to me. Will you be able to give me anything you are told?" Emily nods. "Then let's go that route. He may be more open to speak with you two if I'm not around."

"Okay. Thank you for your help in this. We'll be in touch."

Emily and JJ shake the man's hand then drive out to the local jail. In the car JJ looks at Emily.

"That footprint thing, you've used that before, haven't you? To hide your footsteps?"

Emily blushes and nods. "Yep. Worked well, too."

JJ studies her wife a moment then grins. "When did you use it, Emily?"

Emily rolls her eyes. "Not when you thought originally. I've told you I was a dog in college. I used it when I took a girl I knew down to this make out area. By walking in my own footsteps and leading the way she had no idea I'd been down there earlier that evening with someone else."

JJ bursts out laughing. "I really, really need to sit down with Tom and Regina to find out more about this Emily 'Heartbreaker' Prentiss I have never met."

Emily just grins, glad her friends don't know _everything_ about her sordid past.

* * *

Morgan shakes his head and grabs his phone. "Hotch? There is no doubt these kills are our unsub. How the hell did Mink even question that?"

"Because Mink is a fink," Hotch answers.

"Come again."

Hotch explains what he and Reid had deduced that morning and confirmed with Garcia's help. He then runs down the visit to the FBI office and the potential meeting between the local agents and the man portraying himself as Mink.

"Shit. This guy is more sophisticated than we realized," Morgan states.

"Definitely. And I think our imposter is the money man. He arranges the hits and the payments, the unsub carries them out. But for some reason, the fink is now trying to cut ties with the killer."

"And probably hoping the guy will go down via suicide by cop."

"Most likely. And barring that, I can imagine we will have nothing but the unsub's word that there is someone else involved." Hotch glances at his watch. "Look, stay there tonight and get a look at everything that can help us convict the killer when we catch him. Maybe by tomorrow between everything we're looking at we'll know a direction to take."

"Will do. Talk to you later."

Morgan hangs up and looks at the evidence boxes in front of him. He has just pulled out another folder when he suddenly stops. He has been sent to Shreveport. Rossi ended up in Houston. JJ and Emily were headed to Baton Rouge. What if the unsub, or rather unusbs, were intentionally spreading the team out. Maybe killing Will had been a way to draw them into the investigation? But how could they guarantee their team would respond.

"Because of JJ and Henry," he answers himself. "They could have killed Will knowing our team would insist on helping find his killer."

He grabs his phone and stabs redial. "Hotch! Just had a thought!"

He lays out his concerns and Hotch stiffens. "Damn. It's so convoluted it could be a possibility. Watch your back, Morgan. If you go to speak to someone you take a detective with you. Understood?"

"Understood. I'll call Emily and JJ to warn them if you call Rossi."

"Rossi is still in the air. I'll call the ladies. You get what you need up there so you can rejoin us as soon as possible."

"Tonight?"

"Think you can be done by tonight?"

Morgan glances at all the evidence in front of him and sighs. "Doubt it. At least not before the last flight leaves."

"Then tomorrow as soon as you are sure you've seen enough."

"Alright. Talk to you later."

"Definitely. And I mean that. Call me when you are in the hotel for the night."

"I will, Dad," Morgan says with a grin.

"Smartass," Hotch mutters as he disconnects…also grinning.

* * *

When Rossi and Kevin arrive in Houston, Kevin immediately starts to work on the delicate remains of the computer, much to the anger of a CSI assigned to work with him.

"Look, the damn thing is toast. Nothing can be pulled off of there or I'd have gotten it," he insists.

Garcia had warned Kevin other techs would be touchy about this and how to deal with it. Kevin gives the guy a shy grin and a shrug.

"Yeah, I know you're probably right but I've got Rossi and, even worse, Hotch, breathing down my neck. I have to at least try to get them to shut up, you know?"

The other tech rolls his eyes. "Do they get we can't produce wine out of rocks?"

"Not usually. They know so little they figure we can just find stuff. At least give me a work station to set up at and let me get soot on my fingers and maybe a few cuts, too, so they can see I tried."

The tech chuckles. "Yeah, okay. I can help you with that."

Soon Kevin is carefully dismantling what's left of the computer. Once it is all apart he finds the components he needs to try to recreate the hard drive. Pulling out a few toys that are exclusive to the FBI he starts to rebuild the hard drive of the burned computer. Finally all that is left to do is cross his fingers and boot it up. He takes a deep breath and launches it. His worried face gets happy as it starts to run.

"How the fuck did you do that?" a voice behind him asks in astonishment.

Kevin shrugs. "Got lucky. Of course, all this is doing is running. Now we need to see if it actually retained any data and if any of that data helps us with the case."

The tech stares at the set-up Kevin has and smiles in wonder. "I want your toys, man."

Kevin shrugs. "FBI exclusives right now. But if you ever have one like this again call me and I'll help you out if I can," he offers, handing the guy his card.

"Definitely. I think you're my new hero."

Kevin blushes, loving the praise that is normally heaped on Garcia.

Four hours later Rossi calls Hotch. "Good news is Kevin got the computer running. Bad news is, nothing on it tells us if anyone was hassling the victim."

"Please tell me there's more good news," Hotch begs.

"Only that these cases are definitely our hitman. I got the email from Emily about the footprints and found those in two of the cases."

"Damn. And still nothing to link these victims to anyone else?"

"Nothing I can see," Rossi admits.

"Okay. So, you and Kevin staying down there tonight?"

"Don't see the need. This is our guy but nothing here will help us identify him or…" Rossi's voice trails off as a handwritten notation on a folder catches his eyes. "Hold it a second, Hotch."

The older agent grabs the folder and reads the note again. He flips it open and sees copies of the case reports, crime scene photos and the autopsy. He closes the folder and reads the note again.

_"Do not release to agent unless we get written request from his superiors."_

"Hotch, I think our fake Mink struck here, too. It was the most recent murder and supposedly an agent asked for copies of everything but never came back with a written request for the info."

"Get with the detective and show him Fink's photo."

"Fink?" Rossi questions.

"Easier to say that than Unsub 2," Hotch explains.

"Ah, of course. I'll call you when I know more."

Rossi disconnects and goes to track down the lead detective on the case and show him a picture of "Fink". Maybe their imposter had tried to draw the FBI into a case down here first. Or maybe his attempt to get his assassin killed by the locals failed and that's why he did his best to draw in the FBI. They know this was the first time he made contact as an FBI agent but what exactly was he trying to do and what exactly rang alarm bells for the detective?

"Detective Pierman!" Rossi calls out, waving the folder. "Who asked for copies of this case file?"

Pierman looks at it and rolls his eyes. "Some agent named…damn…Lynx…no…maybe…"

"Mink?"

Pierman nods. "Yes! Claimed he needed copies for an ongoing investigation but wouldn't give me specifics nor would he give me his boss' information for my files. Told him come back with a written request and appropriate documentation on why he needed it and I'd be happy to give it to him. Made that note so no one else would pass it on to him if I wasn't here."

"Did he try?"

"Damn right he did. Watch commander told him where to stick it. Between you and me, if all FBI agents are that dumb and that rude, you won't get help anywhere in the country."

Rossi nods. "So he changed tactics in New Orleans," he mumbles.

Pierman's eyes narrow. "Tactics? What are you talking about?"

Rossi shakes the folder. "He's not an agent. Probably got the badge online. He did steal the name of a real agent in case anyone checked but we think he's actually working with the killer."

"Then why would he insert himself into the investigation?"

"Because he's trying to get the assassin caught. He's cutting ties for some reason. And it didn't work here so in New Orleans he got bold enough to arrange a cop's death and to approach us in person with a list of kills he is supposedly investigating. He is desperate to cut ties. Now we just have to figure out why."

"Damn. Well, I promise, if by chance he calls me again, I shove his ass in a holding cell and let you all know."

Rossi nods. "Thanks. If we get these guys taken down I'll make sure you know so you can clear your desk of three murders."

"Sounds good to me."

Rossi calls Hotch back. "Hotch? Theory holds. He tried to get the assassin caught here but failed because Pierman didn't trust him. Kevin and I will fly back to New Orleans tonight if we can. If not we'll get in first flight in the morning. He wants us in New Orleans so that's where we will be."

"Sounds good. Get me your itinerary when you can."

"Right. Let me go see if I've missed anything."

"Call me if you need us for anything."

"Will do."

Rossi pockets his phone and goes back to look over this last case one more time to make sure there is nothing else that could point to why "Fink" tried to set up his killer.

* * *

Emily and JJ drop down into chairs at the table. "This guys is beyond meticulous," Emily states.

"I'll say. He even used a tactic old Heartbreaker Emily used back in the day," JJ teases.

Hotch, Reid and Garcia grin as Emily glares at her wife.

"Emily's old habits aside, what else did you find out?" Hotch asks.

"The place he killed them would have been virtually deserted at the guesstimated times of death. Killed the man first. Then the woman a couple hours later. Erased his footprints from when he took the man. When he came back, he walked forwards and backwards in the male victims footsteps. It disguised the tread since you were looking at three impressions in one area and convinced the cops that it could have been multiple unsubs and that they just erased their own prints. Based on the size of the footprints, he could definitely be the man we caught on tape killing Will," Emily reports.

"So we're closing in on the killer's various cases but still at a loss as to who he is," Hotch notes.

"True. But we're starting to learn more on the man we're calling 'Fink' now," Reid points out. "And unless he dies while being apprehended something tells me he'll give up the killer in a heartbeat if it keeps a needle out of his arm."

"Good point. Let's hope you're right and we catch up to one of these bastards soon. For now, let's call it a night here. Rossi and Kevin are getting in around midnight. Morgan will be back tomorrow. Let's hope tomorrow is the day the hammer falls on one of these men."

The team nods and quickly gathers their things. Emily and JJ drive to Helen's house. Tomorrow Francesca and the kids would be flown back to Virginia as Gerald and Elizabeth fly back to England. The Jareau's had promised Helen they would stay as long as she needed them and she could tell them to scoot anytime. The Prentiss women had also said if Helen needs time alone they can get a hotel room with the team. But for at least one more night, there would be a good crowd at the LaMontagne house as Helen and her daughter continue to deal with their new reality.

* * *

At 12:15 Kevin opens the door to the hotel room as quietly as possible. His cellphone flashlight app gives him enough light that he doesn't need to turn anything on as he eases on in. He turns and slides on the safety chain then turns and tiptoes on in. He suddenly stops.

"What the hell?" he mutters.

Garcia's purse is strewn across the floor as if she had decided to dump it everywhere. He brings his light up and sees a glass of water spilled across the dresser, the ice bucket tipped over and ice melting on the floor. He scans around to the beds and sees Garcia's go bag on his bed and her bed empty.

"She knew I was coming," he mumbles, fear starting to grip his heart.

He walks over and flips on the light switch. It's then he sees her makeup back is dumped as if it had been knocked off the dresser in a struggle. Her pajamas are in a pile by the bed. He kneels down and looks at her shirt.

"Oh my God…that's blood."

He then sees something that convinces him she is in trouble: her electronics bag. It's dumped out and one tablet is cracked. Kevin turns and races towards the door of the room. It takes him a second to disengage the safety chain but he finally bursts out into the hall.

"HOTCH! MORGAN! ROSSI! REID! SOMEONE TOOK PENNY!"


	10. Chapter 10

Kevin is banging on Morgan's door as Reid, Rossi and Hotch come barreling out of theirs. Rossi reaches the analyst first.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"She's gone. Stuff strewn everywhere and she's not there!"

"Are you sure she didn't just go- -" Hotch starts to ask but Kevin interrupts.

"No WAY would she leave her make-up kit and other stuff all over like that. Especially not her tablet and lap top. They are on the floor and the tablet is busted. Plus her shirt has blood on it!" he insists.

Hotch nods to Rossi and Reid. They two agents carefully enter Garcia's room Reid sees the shirt in question and kneels to look at it without touching it. He looks up at Rossi.

"Definitely blood."

Rossi takes note of the destroyed electronics. "And this is just as worrisome." He squats down and stares at the tablet screen. "I'll be damned. Their's a treadmark on the screen." He turns to the doorway, where Hotch and Kevin wait. "We need techs here. Now."

Hotch nods. "Already called. I'm calling Prentiss. We'll need her tonight. I'll tell Morgan to get back here ASAP in the morning." He looks at Kevin. "Come with me to the hotel security office. We need to see what they have on tape."

Kevin nods and the two walk off. Rossi looks over at Reid.

"Let's step out and wait for the techs and Prentiss. Nothing we can do in here except ruin evidence."

Reid reluctantly agrees and they step into the hallway.

* * *

Emily pulls JJ as close as the twins will allow. "I love you."

JJ smiles. "I love you, too. Thank you for…for everything the last few days, Emily."

"No need to thank me. I told you that. It's like Francesca always says: it's family."

JJ smiles. "I know. You and Will…it was amazing how close you two became considering what we see day to day at work. So many families just…just damage their kids so much. You don't know how happy I was that you, especially, did everything you could to keep the waters between us all smooth. And I know you will always make sure Henry doesn't forget Will. Sure, he had a few faults and sure a couple times he and I butted heads over Henry, but for the most part he was a good man. And together we will make sure Henry knows that. "

"Yes, we will. And I will do whatever I have to do to make sure he knows Annabelle, too. She's his sister and a link to his father. We'll have to figure that one out as we go."

JJ gives her wife a kiss. "And we will. We always do." She kisses Emily again, running her hands up under the woman's shirt. "I love you so much, Em." Emily moans as JJ starts to squeeze her breasts. "I want to show you how much. I want to make love to y- -"

"Mama? You hurt?"

Emily and JJ burst apart. Henry stands in the doorway with Bear Bear and Alaska. His is looking at Emily with a worried brow. Emily forces a smile to her face.

"Uh, I, um, had a…cramp. And, um, your Mommy was…making it go away," she improvises, thinking the "cramp" between her legs is once again going to go un-massaged tonight.

"Good. Mommy nice."

"Yes, she certainly is. Why are you awake?" He shrugs. "Bad dreams again?" He shrugs again. "Do you need to sleep with Mommy?" He nods. Emily chuckles. "Crawl up there. I will make her get her teeth brushed and her piggies on."

"Okay."

Henry and Alaska run over and climb up on the bed. JJ grabs her pajamas and walks over to Emily, laying a hand on her hip.

"Sorry for the interruption but thank you for this, too."

"He needs his mommy right now. I'll just go- -" Both women frown as Emily's phone rings with Hotch's tone. "Hotch? What's wrong? Do we have a break?" She listens a moment, her eyes widening. "Okay. Be there in 20 minutes."

She hangs up and the two women step into the hallway.

"What's going on?" JJ demands.

"Garcia's been kidnapped."

"WHAT?!"

"Hotch and Kevin are checking security video while Rossi and Reid wait for techs. There is some blood, no idea whose, and a tread on one of Garcia's computers."

"Shit. I'll get dressed and- -"

"No. Stay with Henry." Emily lifts a hand to stop JJ's argument. "And for the twins. Your b.p. has been spiky this week. This is not going to help. I swear to you I will let you know everything as I know it. Please, Jen, trust us. Please."

JJ bites her lip as she thinks about her best friend. "I want to know the minute you find her. No matter…matter what," she chokes out.

Emily frames the blonde's face in her hands. "You will. I promise."

The two share a kiss and Emily steps into the bedroom to change into cargo pants and her combat boots. Something tells her she won't be changing for a while and she wants to be ready for a raid. Pulling her hair back in a ponytail she goes over to the bed.

"I have to go to work, Champ. Think you can keep Mommy sleeping good tonight?"

He grins. "Si, Mama."

Emily smiles and kisses him. "Good boy. I love you."

"Love you, Mama."

Emily steps back into the hallway, where JJ stands holding Emily's clutch piece and sidearm. "Went ahead and got these out of Will's gunsafe for you."

"Thanks."

JJ refuses to look her wife in the eyes. "Emily, don't…please…be careful. I can't…I don't want…I just…"

Emily lifts JJ's chin and meets scared blue eyes with confident brown ones. "I will wear my vest and be very, very careful. I will do my damnedest not to make you go through another funeral for me or Garcia or anyone."

They share a passionate, promise-filled kiss. JJ grabs Emily's collar.

"If you even get a paper cut you are grounded for life."

Emily smiles. "Noted."

They share a hug and Emily hurries downstairs. JJ takes a deep breath to steady herself before going into the bedroom. She needs to make sure her son does not see the nervousness. He doesn't need any more stress in his young life.

Emily had thought she'd get out of the house without being seen. She is wrong. She runs into Sandy and Helen in the living room.

"Emily? Where are you going?" Sandy demands, noting the dress and gun.

"Uh, we have…sort of…an incident thing that we have to check."

Helen stands hopefully. "A lead?"

"I, uh, really don't know." She takes a deep breath. "Garcia is sort of missing and we have to find her."

Sandy gasps and Helen drops back down into her seat. "Oh, God."

"Look, it could be nothing. Don't worry. Just, we have to, you know, look into it. I'm meeting the guys at the hotel. I'm not sure when I'll be back but just try to get some sleep. Things will be okay in the morning. I'm sure."

Sandy recognizes Emily is desperately trying to appear calm for Helen. The older woman smiles. "I'm sure it's nothing. Knowing Garcia she got an idea and rushed out to track it down on a computer stronger than her laptop."

Emily sighs in relief. "Right. Probably. So, um, see you all tomorrow sometime."

Emily quickly leaves before Helen asks anything more. In the SUV she takes a deep breath.

"Sandy Jareau, I so owe you something pretty."

She turns the ignition and drives away. As she turns off the block, she hits lights and sirens to get her to the hotel as quickly as possible.

* * *

Hotch has to fight to keep from punching something. The unsub had entered the hotel with them, followed them to their floor and discovered where Garcia was staying. Unfortunately the only reason they know that is his proximity jammer was strong enough to glitch out every damn camera in the hotel. Security had even called their monitoring company to complain, thinking it was something that could be fixed.

"This is ridiculous. How could it happen Kevin?"

The analyst shrugs as he tries unsuccessfully to find a camera not affected. "We know this guy has money. For all we know that could be coupled with his own tech savvy or he knows someone that can make him a hell of a toy."

"Shit," Hotch mutters.

Kevin frowns. "Sir…I don't think he left the building. In fact…I'm not sure he's left yet."

Hotch leans over his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"Thirty minutes after the glitch starts, it ends. But no one has left Penny's room."

Hotch shakes his head. "Means nothing. He could have gotten her out in that amount of time."

"Oh. Right." He looks at Hotch. "What about area businesses? Like when that bastard took Morgan?"

"We'll hit them up next," Hotch assures him.

"Okay." Kevin glances around and whispers. "So, uh, should I check traffic cams?"

Hotch nods. "Do it."

Kevin nods and starts to hack into the DOT cameras in that area. Hotch paces, trying to figure out another way to help track down his missing analyst.

* * *

Emily flashes her badge to the police officer stationed outside the elevator on her team's floor. He nods and she moves quickly to Reid and Rossi.

"What do we know?"

"A whole lot of nothing," Rossi grumbles.

"Hotch just called and said the kidnapper actually arrived with us. I'm waiting to meet with a sketch artist as there were two people that got off the elevator with us. One was a delivery man that Baylor is going to check out and see if he's legitimate and the other is unknown," Reid explains.

"Cameras?"

"Jammed."

"Fuck," she replies and runs her hand through her hair. "How much longer the techs going to be in there?"

Rossi looks at the 2 men and 1 woman gathering every piece of potential evidence they can. "No clue. They are being very thorough. Of course there isn't much to see in there but it could still help us gauge his mental state."

Emily leans against the door to the room beside Garcia's. "His mental state is desperation. Why?"

Reid frowns. "Because he's been set up." He turns to the others. "This is the assassin. He wants to know what we know because the money man set him up."

Emily and Rossi both nod in agreement, worried what that could mean for Garcia.

"How's Henry?" Rossi asks in hopes of ending his speculation about what Garcia is going through.

Emily shrugs. "He's…getting better. He came and asked to sleep with Jen again. I know he has issues with us when we're awake because he still thinks we're hiding his dad from him but at least at night he knows Jen is the one that can help keep his bad dreams at bay. I think we needed that trust as much as he needs us."

"He's going to be okay," Reid says. "He just needs a little time to adjust."

"Don't we all," Emily points out.

Reid and Rossi nod. Emily is about to say something else when a thump sounds in the room behind her. She slowly turns and stares at the door.

"Rossi, isn't this Morgan's room?"

"Yes."

Emily places her ear against the door. "I swear I thought I heard- -THERE! There's noise in here. A thumping sound."

Rossi slowly shakes his head. "Oh he wouldn't fucking dare…"

"If he noticed she had a roommate he might," Emily points out.

"We need to get a key and check," Rossi states.

"Fuck that," Emily answers.

She walks into Garcia's room, stepping around techs.

"Hey!" One yells at her. "You're disturbing the scene."

"About to disturb it more," she warns him as she draws her gun.

She opens the door that adjoins Morgan's then gives a mighty kick and slams open the door into his room. She races in, gun sweeping the room. She senses Rossi and Reid right behind her so she hurries to the figure on the bed.

"PEN!"

Emily starts to carefully cut the tape around the terrified blonde's wrists. Rossi moves to the window, which is open.

"Bastard got out this way."

Reid steps in from the bathroom. "He's definitely gone."

As soon as her hands are free, Garcia throws her arms around Emily's neck.

"Easy, Pen, you're okay. You're okay," Emily whispers.

With one hand she hands the tape to Rossi. He takes it carefully so it can be checked for trace and prints. Reid starts to carefully cut the tape off Garcia's ankles. After she is free, Emily leans back.

"Pen, I'm going to ease the tape off your mouth, okay?" Garcia nods. "I have to go slow so I don't hurt you, okay?"

Garcia nods again and Emily carefully eases the tape from the woman's mouth, doing her best not to tear skin. She hears Rossi calling Hotch and knows the unit chief and Kevin will be there soon. Once the tape is off, Garcia throws her arms around Emily again.

"Pen, how long has he been gone?"

"Just…a few minutes. He was worried you all would check this room or that Morgan would come back. He had been trying to wait for you all to go to the police station but then he knew he had to run or risk getting caught."

"What was he wearing?"

"Blue jeans. A nice red polo shirt. A fake beard and hair piece. And coloured contacts."

"You're sure?" Emily presses.

"Yeah. It was a good make-up job but it was definitely a make-up job," the theatre buff insists.

Reid sighs. "So much for me getting with a sketch artist."

"Garcia!"

They turn as Hotch runs into the room, closely followed by Kevin.

"I'm…okay, sir. Just…shaken up. He wanted info I didn't really have. And he wrote something." She looks around. "There!" She points at the side table.

Hotch walks over and sees a handwritten note on the hotel notepad. He turns. "I need gloves. Now."

Kevin goes into the other room and gets a pair of latex gloves from one of the techs. He hands them to Hotch who quickly pulls them on. He reads the note, shaking his head as he does.

"Bastard gave up the money man, apologized about Will, and says he plans to take a vacation for a while."

"In other words, don't come after me you won't find me," Rossi recaps.

"Essentially." Hotch fights the urge to crumple the papers up. "Fuck him. We'll take the money man out and we will also find the assassin. Prentiss, Rossi, get to the precinct. Call Baylor and Florence and have them meet you there. Kevin, go with them to look up anything they might need."

"I can go, sir."

"Garcia, you have a gash on your forehead and went through a traumatic experience. It's SOP for you to have an exam. Reid will go with you."

Reid nods encouragingly. "We can play 'Outthink the Doctor' and see if we're right."

Garcia giggles, feeling a little calmer. "You're on." She looks at Emily. "Call Jayje."

Emily nods. "I will. Are you really okay?"

"A bit skeeved out and still a bit shaky but I'll be fine."

"If you need anything, call me," Emily orders.

"I will, Princess." She looks at Hotch. "So, uh, does Morgan know?"

"Not yet. I'll call him in a few minutes so he can get back here first thing in the morning."

"He'll probably leave tonight so he can check on his goddess," Reid points out with a grin.

"True," Hotch agrees. "I'll stay with the techs. Let's get moving. We'll take the money man out as soon as we can and the assassin falls next."

The team nods and splits up to start what they hope is the beginning of the end of this case.


	11. Chapter 11

"He apologized! For killing Will! What a bastard!" JJ hisses into the phone.

"Yeah. Kind of makes me want to track him down just so I can punch his face in," Emily admits with venom. She pinches the bridge of her nose and decides to change the subject. "So, uh, Pen will text you when the docs clear her. How's Henry?"

JJ cuts her eyes over to the bed. She can't help but smile as she sees him asleep, Bear Bear in one arm, his other curled into Alaska's fur.

"Sleeping peacefully. He hasn't moved since he fell asleep. I am hoping tonight will be one without nightmares for him finally."

"Me, too. I just want to snap my fingers and get him to the day this is easier for him. I'd trade everything I have to give him that peace of mind."

"Me, too. But he's getting better. It will just take- -hey, Rock Star, what are you doing in here?"

"Lonely," the little girl answer. "No Sug."

JJ kneels as the little girl walks into the room, her stuffed tiger under her arm. "I know, Sweet Girl. I'm sorry Sergio couldn't come with us. How about you crawl up there with Henry and Alaska."

"And you?"

"And me. Let me just say bye bye to Mama."

Rocky smiles. "Hi, Mama." JJ hands her the phone. "Mama?"

"Hey, sweet girl. Having trouble sleeping?"

"Si, Mama. No Sug. Lonely."

"Well, I am sure Mommy can make you not feel lonely. Can you give her a big hug and kiss from me?"

"Si, Mama."

"Thanks, Rocky. Goodnight, sweetie. I love you."

"Love, Mama."

Rocky gives JJ the phone…and a big hug and kiss. "From Mama."

JJ smiles. "Thanks, Rock Star. Hop into bed." She watches as Rocky walks over and climbs up beside Henry. "Well, Em, I'll let you all get to it. I'll see you at the station in the morning."

"Sounds good. I love you, Jen."

"Love you, too."

JJ hangs up and stares at her kids a moment. She smiles as she sees Rocky already falling asleep as she pats Henry on the tummy. They were a great sibling duo, even when they had their spats. She climbs into bed and kisses both kids on the head.

"Love you two so much." She rubs her stomach. "Love you two, also."

JJ watches them sleep for a little while before finally slipping off to sleep herself.

* * *

Hotch had put off calling Morgan until he had something more to tell him. As he watches the ambulance containing Garcia pull away he finally pulls out his phone and hits the prompt for his second.

"Hotch? What's wrong?" Morgan asks as he answers, knowing a call this late can't be good.

"There was…an incident at the hotel."

"An incident? What kind of incident?"

"The assassin broke into Garcia's room and- -"

"FUCK!" Morgan leaps out of bed and starts to get dressed.

"She's okay! Shaken up, a small cut where he hit her but mostly okay. He…damn this is fucked," Hotch admits as he tells Morgan about what had happened. "So looks, get the first flight back in the morning. Hopefully by then we'll have Fink in custody and be ready to interrogate him."

"He should be pissed enough at the killer to give us some good information," Morgan notes.

"Hopefully. Prentiss, Rossi and Kevin are meeting Florence and Baylor to look up Fink by his real name, or at least the name the killer had, and to look up the address. If it's real, we'll take him out tonight."

"Good luck." He takes a deep breath. "Is she…really okay?"

"She is, Morgan. Promise. Oh, and expect to have a different hotel room when you get here."

"How about a suite that my goddess can stay in, too?"

Hotch chuckles. "I'll see what I can arrange. See you in the morning."

Morgan stares at his phone for a few minutes. He looks at the clock. It's 2:12. He can be back down there by 8 if he drives. He pulls up flight info and sees the earliest flight available will get him in at 9:30.

"Every second counts," he mutters as he quickly finishes dressing, packs up and calls for a rental car.

By 2:45 he has picked up the car, stopped for a 24z Monster, and started back to New Orleans. No one goes after his goddess and just walks away with an apology.

* * *

Kevin types as fast as he can. He doesn't bother to tell the 2 agents and 2 detectives that pacing behind him is NOT helping him work faster. He knows they feel helpless and angry about what happened to Garcia and nothing he can say will get them to sit down.

"Okay, address checks out. Single family home just like that bastard wrote. Looks like two outside entries just like he said." Another alert sounds and he brings up a Chicago license photo nearly 15 years old. "And here's a face."

Rossi leans over his shoulder. "That's the bastard." He stands and looks at the other three. "We need four cops with us to keep an eye on the windows so he can't escape that way. We need four with us, two for each entry. Baylor, you're with me. Florence with Prentiss."

Florence nods and calls for patrol officers to meet them a block from the address. Once they have gathered down the street, Rossi studies each officer.

"This guy is looking at the death penalty and he knows it. But we need to know what he knows to get justice for Will LaMontagne. Do NOT let him commit suicide by cop. If he does, the trigger man may never be found. This is the only way to give a 3 year old boy and a month old little girl answers about what happened to their daddy."

He sees that statement more than any other seems to settle something in the eyes of cops who had been fine with killing the suspect. Satisfied he knows they are ready, he has Florence split them up into the two infiltration groups. Once the cops are in position around the house, Prentiss leads her team to the back of the house. After picking both door locks she radios Rossi.

"We're set, Rossi."

"Quiet entry on three. One. Two. Three."

As one, the two teams enter the house. Rossi winces as he hears the security alarm start to chime.

"Guy has security system. If he's here, he knows we are. Move!"

While the cops clear the bottom floor, Emily cautiously leads Rossi and the detectives up the stairs. Just before they reach the top, James Koresh leans out and fires off a round that hits the wall right by Emily's head. She fires back, just missing his arm as he pulls back around the corner.

"THIS IS THE POLICE! THE HOUSE IS SURROUNDED, KORESH! YOUR PARTNER GAVE YOU UP! SURRENDER AND GET A CHANCE TO BURN HIS ASS, TOO!" she yells out. They wait a moment. "LAST CHANCE!"

"WAIT! WAIT! I WANT A DEAL!"

"TOSS YOUR GUN AND WE CAN TALK DEAL."

A second later his handgun is tossed around the corner and down the stairs. Rossi leans close to Em.

"No way he only has one."

"I know," she acknowledges.

"OKAY! LADY, YOU COME AND GET ME."

"Predictable shit," she mutters.

Rossi just grins. Boy had Koresh underestimated the danger this "lady" would pose.

"LAY DOWN AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS SO I CAN SEE YOUR HEAD AND HANDS," Emily orders.

"NO WAY! THEM COPS WILL SHOOT ME FOR REVENGE!"

"YOU HAVE MY WORD THEY WON'T!"

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH."

"FINE. I'M ON MY WAY."

Around the corner, Koresh grins. Sure she was an agent but she's still just a woman. He readies his 9mm. As soon as it's against her head she'll give up and be his tick- -

"OOMPH!"

He doesn't finish his thought as Emily's leg proceeds her around the corner and connects with his stomach. He doubles over and her follow up gets him in the head, sending him to the ground. Before he can even gasp for breath she rips the gun out of his hand.

"Old trick, idiot," she grumbles as she kneels in his back and pulls his hands back to cuff him. "You have the right to remain silent…"

Rossi stands at the top of the stairs smiling proudly as Emily recites the Miranda warnings. He helps her jerk Koresh up to his feet.

"Should have had me come up. I'm not limber enough for that kick move," Rossi says with a smirk.

Koresh just grunts as he is handed off to Baylor and Florence for the trip to the police station.

* * *

After booking Koresh and taking time to peruse all the information Kevin had been able to find on him, the agents look at Florence and Baylor.

"You want to talk to him?" Hotch asks.

Florence shakes his head. "Honestly, he says something wrong I may punch his ass out."

Baylor nods. "Me, too. But I'd like to be in there anyway. You can lead the interrogation, though."

"Okay," Hotch agrees.

The two men walk into the room while the others watch from outside. Koresh stares at them, his face calm.

"There's been a big misunderstanding," he begins. "I heard people breaking into my house. I didn't know they were cops. I swear!"

"Then the poor shot at Agent Prentiss can be ignored. But the fact that you tried to lure her up the stairs and shoot her again can't be."

"NO! No, I would never! I was just scared. She still could have been anyone."

"You met her here when you were impersonating an FBI agent," Hotch points out.

"It was the middle of the night! I was scared!" Koresh pleads.

"Enough. James Koresh you are under arrest for multiple counts of conspiracy to commit murder, participating in murder for hire, impersonating an FBI agent, and any other charge we can find during the course of our investigation. If you cooperate you won't face the death penalty."

Koresh stares into obsidian eyes. This guy wasn't going to budge. He takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Tough," Hotch answers.

"I'll talk to the FBI but not you. I want the chick."

Hotch lifts a brow and Emily smiles, eager for a chance to go after the man again.

"You want Prentiss in here after the way she took you down?"

"Fuck no. I want Jareau."

Emily stiffens. "No. Fucking. WAY!" she growls.

Hotch shakes his head. "Not happening. Pregnant agents can't lead interrogations."

"Bullshit. I want to see her face. I want her to see I'm sorry her baby daddy had to die. And I want her to know I had to arrange his death because you all were too stupid to follow the clues left in Houston."

Baylor slams his hands down on the table. "Watch your mouth! Jareau isn't stepping into this room with you. Talk to us or take your chances with a jury."

"Or better yet," Hotch tosses a folder towards the prisoner, "take your chances with your old buddies in Chicago. Our Organized Crime Unit is already asking your old friends all about you, even hinting that you are willing to take a deal for any information we can use." Koresh pales as he opens the folder and sees various members of a Chicago crime family. "I can imagine those folks will send a lawyer down for you, will arrange your bail, and maybe even arrange a nice pair of cement shoes for you to wear to a gator pond. You're out of options, Koresh."

Koresh stares at the pictures a second longer then looks up, fear in his eyes for the first time. From behind the mirror Emily smiles as she sees the smugness has been verbally slapped off the man's face.

"Gotcha, motherfucker," she whispers.

Rossi pats her on the shoulder in a fatherly manner. He had been worried one more remark about Will or JJ would have sent the brunette flying into the room. Now she has calmed a bit, knowing Koresh will have to talk or risk a painful death.

Koresh closes the folder. "What do you need to know?"


	12. Chapter 12

"We have the name Anthony Powell," Hotch states. "However, with more than one person mentioning he sounds like he purposely lost his accent we can surmise that is not his real name and that he has the ability to get back to his country of origin."

"Unless he's a wanted man under his old name, too," Rossi points out.

"True. But he would have the ability to get a new name, new passport, new credit cards even. All you need are contacts who don't ask questions," Emily reminds them.

"There has to be a way to track him. Are we sure Koresh really didn't know where Powell lives?" Reid asks.

"Very sure. He contacted Powell via a series of burn phones. None are used for more than 3 months," Hotch states.

"Then let's trace the burn phones," Garcia says from the doorway.

The team can't help but smile to see their analyst is there and looking ready for a fight. JJ moves beyond her best friend, whom she'd picked up at the hospital, giving her a pat on the arm as she does. JJ takes a seat beside Emily as Hotch steps towards Garcia.

"Are you sure? If you need time- -"

"I need to find this bastard, Hotch. For my Godson and my own peace of mind. So what do we have other than the burn phone that could help?"

"Guy has an old muscle car. 1960's era Mustang," Rossi supplies.

"Good to know. So give me the phone number and a computer. I'll deliver his ass to you as fast as I can," Garcia promises.

Hotch smiles. "Kevin is set up next door already looking. Something tells me with the two of you working this we'll have him before breakfast is finished being served."

"Damn right," Garcia affirms as she turns to go help her ex.

"And now we sit and wait. Yay," Rossi says with his flair for sarcasm.

The team grins. Emily takes JJ's hand.

"You okay?"

JJ nods. "Fine. I got some sleep last night. No offense but the rest of you look like crap. Especially you, Morgan."

Morgan grins. "Two 24z Monsters helped me get here. I think I'm starting to crash."

"So, why don't all of you find a place to crash? I'll sit here and deal with any leads and any media requests that come in," JJ suggests.

Hotch nods. "Good idea. When Garcia and Kevin find this guy we'll be off to take him into custody. Let's get some rest while we can."

"You sure you don't need help?" Emily asks her wife.

"I'll be fine." She studies Emily's eyes. "Wait…why are you scared to leave me alone?" JJ glances up as the men leave the room and avoid looking at her. She turns back to her wife. "Emily?"

Emily stands and closes the door. "Koresh wanted you to lead his interrogation."

JJ shrugs. "Yeah? So? No way that would happen. And if the idiot asks to see me the answer would be no. So what the hell else is going on?"

Emily starts to pace. "Powell kind of…well, seeing your press conference is what spurred him to grab Garcia for information. We're worried he could try to grab you or her again if he wants more info."

JJ lifts an eyebrow, obviously perturbed. "And you weren't going to tell me any of this?"

"I was! I swear. I just…one, I wanted us to be alone. And two, well, I have to admit to you what I didn't admit to the guys: I won't let them near you, Jen. Whatever it takes from me I won't let them near you. I wanted to pummel Koresh when he said he'd only talk to you. I wanted to ensure it didn't happen no matter what." She stops pacing and stares into her wife's eyes. "He killed Will for no good reason. I'm scared he'll…he will…" she can't finish the sentence.

"You're scared he'll put a hit out on me, too?" JJ says quietly.

"Yes. I mean, it's highly unlikely but…but…" Emily turns away, hoping to hide her tears. "I don't know what I would do…" she finishes at a whisper.

JJ gets up and walks over to her wife. She pulls her into a hug from behind.

"Emily, let it go. Your fears are getting to you because you are fighting so hard not to cry about Will. You've been so strong for me, for Henry, for Helen, everyone. You need to mourn your friend. Honey, it's now interfering in your job. You're too emotional and you know it."

Emily slowly shakes her head. "I can't, Jen. When I finally let go, when it is finally okay to cry because you don't need me and Henry doesn't need me I will. I can't yet. Not until this is really, truly done."

"If the assassin is in the wind, which we know is a probability, it may never end. Are you going to hold everything in forever? Are you going to- -"

"I got offered a promotion," Emily blurts.

JJ is stunned a moment. "You…you what? When? What is it?"

"I got it while you and Rossi were in Alabama. And it just seems like there were constantly reasons for me not to talk to you about it and then Will was shot and Hessel said he understood and I can talk to him next week and…and…"

"Hessel? He wants you as his second, doesn't he?" JJ guesses. Emily nods. "Em, that's a great promotion! You'd be helping set up the next great BAU team. You're going to take it right?"

Emily turns and stares into her wife's eyes. "No. And not just because you're pregnant," she says, stopping JJ's argument. "Think about it, Jen. How often are we in the office with all the other BAU teams? We're all constantly on the go. It's hard enough with both of us gone from the kids at the same time. On separate teams one of us will always be gone. We may as well get a divorce for all the family time we'd be able to have." JJ blanches at that thought. "Hessel wants me to talk to him when we get back but I'm going to call him. I'm honored and, well, I think I could be ready on a professional level for that job. But on a personal level, I'm not willing to lose more time with you and the kids than we already do."

JJ studies her wife carefully. She pulls her into a kiss and firm hug. When it ends she runs her hand over Emily's cheek.

"I love you so much. I am so proud of you for getting that offer. And I am so happy that you saw beyond the excitement that the promotion offers. I was so excited for you but you're right, we'd have so little time together it would make things so hard for us to stay together without anger and bitterness taking root." She thinks a second. "My God, Emily, you've been dealing with that as well as all of this?" she gestures to the room as a way of meaning the case.

"Yeah," Emily admits.

"No wonder you have bags under your eyes I could haul grain in. I thought it was just because you kept giving up your bed to Henry and then being up all night last night."

Emily manages a grin. "I'm sure that added to the size of the luggage on my face."

"Emily, go take a nap somewhere. Heck, go to Helen's house. If we need you here you can be back in a heartbeat with lights and sirens. Maybe you can take a nap with the kids. Or if they are awake, maybe Alaska."

Emily chuckles as she pictures cuddling with Henry's pup. "Maybe. Are you sure you don't need my help?"

"Nah, I can handle things fine. And if anyone comes to speak to the FBI I won't speak with them alone. I promise."

Emily sighs in relief. "Thanks for that, Jen." She kisses her wife then pulls her into a hug. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too. See you in a couple of hours."

Emily nods and grabs her purse along with a set of keys for one of the SUVs. Giving JJ one more peck, she leaves the conference room. She sees Baylor getting a large cup of coffee.

"Todd, get a nap."

Baylor grins. "I will. After Marty. We're taking turns in case there's a break or something. You leaving?"

"Jen convinced me to go to the house and sleep, probably because she knows the kids will help settle my head and heart even more than a nap."

Baylor chuckles. "I believe that. See you later."

Emily nods and heads on outside. She takes a deep breath of air as she walks out of the precinct, hoping the cool air will help wake her just enough to help her drive home. The last thing she wants is more caffeine. She knows her body needs to sleep. Testament to just how tired she is, she doesn't feel the two men closing in on her until too late.

One man grabs her as another shoves a rag in her face. Her instinct to struggle and the breath she takes seals her fate.

_"Fuck…chloroform_," she thinks before the darkness takes her.

A van pulls up and the two men shove Emily in the side door. One man binds and blindfolds the unconscious agent as the other demolishes the work phone on her hip.

"Drive," the man in the passenger seat orders. He looks at the men in the back. "Make sure she doesn't see us. Kidnapping a Fed is one thing. Having to kill her is something else entirely."

* * *

It is almost noon when Garcia taps Hotch on the shoulder. "Hotch? We found him."

Hotch sits up quickly. "Seriously?"

Garcia grins. "Seriously."

"Get the team into the conference room so we can plan our move. How far away is he?"

"A couple hours by car."

"Then I'll be calling for a helicopter. We need to move quickly."

Garcia nods and hurries to wake everyone else as Hotch pulls out his phone and calls for a helicopter to be ready to dispatch once his team arrives. A few minutes later he walks into the conference room to see JJ frowning.

"What's wrong?"

"I sent Em to the house for a nap. Phone went right to voicemail so the battery is probably dead. Calling the house now," she says. A second later she smiles. "Helen, hi. Can you get Emily for me?" JJ's face pales. "She…she didn't? Are you sure?" She listens. "Oh, God. She should have been there a couple hours ago. I'll call you when I know something."

JJ hangs up and looks at Hotch. "Which SUV did she take?" he asks.

"The one we've been using since we arrived."

Hotch hurries out to the parking lot. His stomach does a flip when he sees it still sitting where it had been parked earlier. He hurries to it, praying exhaustion made her fall asleep inside. As he gets closer he sees the keys on the ground beside it.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he mumbles.

He checks inside anyway but as he expected, it's empty. He picks up the keys and jogs inside.

"MARTY! I need copies of all outside surveillance for about 2 hours ago and then I'll need an APB out on whatever we see. Someone has taken Prentiss."

Hotch hears a gasp and turns to see JJ clutching the arm of Morgan, who seems to be holding her up.

"We'll find her, JJ. There is no other option," Hotch vows.


	13. Chapter 13

Ice cold water is tossed into Emily's face, forcing her to sputter awake. She quickly takes stock of her situation: wrists and ankles duct-taped to a chair, blindfold, and a lingering headache from the chloroform. She takes a deep breath.

"If you felt I needed a shower you could have just said so," she states, her voice steady with anger.

A man chuckles. "Cute, Agent Prentiss. You are a ravishing beauty and your perfume is devine, I must say. However, we have brought you here today to get a little information. I need to know what you know."

"That could take a while. I humbly have to say I am quite intelligent."

The man chuckles again and looks at his men. "I like her." He turns back to Emily. "What is James Koresh telling you people?"

"He's not giving up shit about anything," Emily states.

"Oh, I find that hard to believe. That little worm will do what he has to do to save his ass. So I ask again, nicely, what has he told you and the other agents?"

"Nothing," Emily insists.

The man sighs. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Agent Prentiss. I didn't want to go this route."

Unseen by her, he gestures to one of his men. The man starts to undo his belt buckle. Emily stiffens.

_"Oh, God….they're going to rape me for information_," she thinks, forcing herself not to shudder at the thought.

Her interrogator smiles, seeing her breathing change and knowing what she is expected. He turn as his man grips the buckle of his belt and slowly slides it from his pants. He then wraps it twice around his fist.

"Last chance, Agent Prentiss," the leader warns.

She tightens her fists but keeps her mouth shut. The leader nods to his man.

"So be it."

The man draws his hand back and then whips the end of his belt across Emily's face. She gasps, her head flipping to the side, then gets it flipped back when he brings the belt back against the other side of her face. He repeats the attack three times before his boss stops him. Emily is fighting to control her breathing as her cheeks feel like they are on fire.

"That red is far too bright for your complexion, Agent Prentiss."

"Fuck…you," she forces out.

He ignores her. "A few more strikes and you will start to turn purple. Do you really think any concealer out there will hide those bruises?"

Emily finally gets her breathing normal. "Who are you kidding? I'm dead as soon as I tell you anything."

"Now, Agent Prentiss, take stock of your situation. You haven't seen any of us, you didn't even see the vehicle that brought you here. When we're done, we'll knock you out and return you far from this location. What could you possibly tell anyone about us?"

"Bullshit."

"I see you need more convincing. Give her four."

Emily tenses and endures another 8 strikes to her face. She tries to concentrate on images of her wife and children; reasons to fight; reasons to pray her team finds her.

"Again, Agent Prentiss, what is Mr. Koresh saying."

"F- -fuck…you."

"Give her 8."

Four more times she is asked and each time he adds 4 more double strikes to the whipping. Her face is an inferno of pain. Emily just keeps thinking of her family. She tenses when she feels someone squat down beside her chair, shifting away from them.

"Easy, Agent Prentiss. Not like you can do anything but put more stress on your body trying to get away from me. Why won't you just tell us one little thing? Just one thing," he bargains. "What is Koresh saying about his…associates."

Emily takes a deep breath. "Just…that?"

The man smiles, sure he has broken her. "Yes…just that."

Emily rolls her head towards him, wishing she could glare at him. "He says you're all a bunch of pathetic fucks."

The man's smile disappears. "I've tried to be nice, Agent Prentiss. Now it's time to get mean." He turns to his men. "Get a set a pliers."

Emily hears a man digging around in a toolbox, most likely making more noise than necessary to try to intimidate her. She listens as footsteps approach her.

"Thank you," her captor says. "Now, one last chance. What is he saying about his associates, Agent Prentiss."

"Go to hell," Emily spits.

The man grabs her hand. Emily tries to pull away but can't. He grabs her pinky finger with the pliers and starts to squeeze. Emily fights as long as she can before letting out an inhuman scream. Her captor smiles. He'll make her talk. Soon.

* * *

"THERE!" Morgan yells.

Garcia stops the rewinding feed. They see two men grabbing Emily.

"Back up a couple seconds more then start it forward in slow motion," Morgan orders.

Garcia does as asked. Morgan and Rossi stand over her shoulder watching the abduction of Emily Prentiss.

"That van…we need a plate," Rossi orders.

"I know, I know. No view of it yet," Garcia notes.

Leaving the abduction of Emily, she shifts through several different camera angles until she finds the one that will (hopefully) help them. She winds the feed backwards until the rear of the van is in view, she cleans up the pixilation, and…

"GOT IT!"

Morgan quickly calls Todd Baylor who immediately punches in the license plate and van description into an APB.

"Let's pray the tag is legit," Rossi says. Morgan just nods.

* * *

Hotch has to fight the urge to slam Koresh into the wall. "A couple of your buddies kidnapped one of my agents. If she is harmed, or worse, you will stand for that, too."

"NO! I was here! I had nothing to do with that!"

"She was TAKEN because they think YOU might rat them out!" Hotch shouts. "Who the fuck would take her and where would they take her?"

Koresh runs a hand through his hair. "I…I…"

Marty Florence grabs him and does what Hotch had wanted to. Koresh's head bounces off the wall.

"YOU STUPID FUCK! You caused the death of one friend of mine. So help me you cause the death or even injury of another I'll gladly lose my badge to avenge them both!"

Reid grabs Florence and pulls him off. Hotch steps into Koresh's face.

"I won't have my agent pull him off a second time."

Koresh looks around the room. The agents had at one time promised to protect him from the Chicago outfit. Now…now it looks like they may do more damage to him than the mob.

"There's…there's a warehouse. Abandoned after Katrina but they never tore it down. They use if for, uh, you know...settling scores and stuff. They might take her there."

"And if not there?" Hotch presses.

"I don't know. I swear I don't know."

"What's the address?"

Koresh gives them the address and the agents and detective hurry out of the room as another officer steps in to watch the prisoner. Hotch is terrified the visiting mobsters might use a different location in case Koresh gave up the warehouse but he can't risk not checking it out. They'd had Emily for almost 3 hours. He keeps thinking about the 3 days of torture Clyde Easter had put her through and prays her body can still hold out the way it did that time.

* * *

Garcia, thanks to the address Koresh gave up, tracks the van via street cams until she loses it near the old docks. The agents are hopeful that means they will find their friend there. JJ paces behind Garcia, unable to sit down, unable to stop worrying.

"Jayje, maybe you could- -"

"Just. Stop. Garcia," JJ warns.

The analyst and Kevin exchange a look, both wishing they knew what to say to ease her mind.

* * *

Morgan, Baylor and Rossi approach the backdoor of the warehouse. Just as he is about to radio they are in position Morgan hears Emily scream. He sees red and kicks in the backdoor without warning.

In front, Hotch tries to turn off memories of Morgan being held in a similar building. They had gotten to Morgan in time. What if it is too late for Emily? As he awaits Morgan's signal, he hears Emily give a horrible scream. Hotch stomps towards the door and kicks it in without warning.

"FREEZE! FBI!" echoes throughout the building as Hotch and Morgan race towards the four men surrounding Emily.

Two men pull guns. Morgan kills one, Hotch the other. One man throws his hands in the air and backs away from Emily. The fourth man jumps behind her and puts a gun to her head.

"ANOTHER STEP AND I KILL HER!"

Hotch and Morgan stop, both have their guns trained on the man. Florence, Baylor and Rossi step up beside them, their guns also ready.

"DROP YOUR GUNS! DROP THEM!" the man screams.

"No," Hotch says. "You drop yours or we drop you. Those are the only 2 choices here.

Florence nods at the man that has surrendered. "You. On the ground. Face down arms out to the side."

The young man complies. His boss gives him a disgusted look. But he turns back to the agents.

"She and I are gonna drive out of here."

"The fuck you are," Morgan states. "You versus five guns: you won't win, man."

The man is shifting his eyes from man to man. Suddenly he feels a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey," Reid says softly.

The man turns, his gun shifting away from Emily…and Reid slams the butt of his gun into the man's temple. He stumbles back and Reid kicks the gun out of his hand. As the man falls on his ass, Reid shifts his revolver and points it at the man's head.

"Morgan can't count. There were six guns versus you."

Morgan races to Emily as Hotch and Baylor go after the leader and Florence and Rossi take care of the man that surrendered. Morgan kneels down beside his best friend and pulls out his pocket knife.

"We're here, Em. You're going to be okay."

Tears roll silently down her bruised, swollen cheeks. "Derek…I…oh, God, I hurt Derek."

"I know, Em. I know. You're going to be okay. I promise. You'll be just fine."

He finishes cutting away the tape around her wrists and she throws her arms around his neck. He reaches up and pulls off the blindfold.

"You're okay now. I swear," he reiterates.

"J…Jen?"

"Scared but she'll be fine now that you're safe."

"My hand, Derek."

"I saw. You'll be okay. We'll get it treated and you'll be fine. You'll be a concert pianist again in no time."

He is relieved to hear her give a sobbed-choked chuckle. She eases back and stares into his eyes.

"I knew you guys would find me. Never doubted it."

He smiles. "Good to know."

He leans down and cuts her ankles free. She cradles her left hand. The bastard had used the pliers to painfully squeeze and twist her fingers. He hadn't broken them but they were all swollen and she was sure a couple had ligament damage. She looks at her wedding ring.

"Morgan…can you get it off. Can you try? I don't want them to cut it. Please."

Morgan stares at it a moment then tries to pull it off. He can't get it up over her knuckle.

"Em…I'm sorry."

"Fuck. I…I never wanted…I…I don't want…I…"

"Maybe the hospital will have a way not to cut it. I will do my best to keep them from cutting it off. I promise."

Morgan steps out of the way of the EMTs who start to evaluate Emily and prepare her for transport. He thinks a second then places a call.

"Helen? I know they last thing you need to worry about right now is work but, well, Emily needs help. I'm not sure if you can do anything but I'd really appreciate it if you could try."

* * *

"HOTCH?" JJ screams into her phone.

"She's alive. Bruised, dehydrated, sore but alright," Hotch assures his newest profiler.

JJ drops into a chair. "Oh, thank God." She takes a deep breath. "What hospital?"

"Helen's. In fact I think Morgan is calling her because…well, it looks like they were using pliers on her fingers."

"Oh, God…oh, Hotch…"

"She's okay, JJ. But her wedding ring can't come off at the moment. I know she's had issues about the removal of it and if it has to be cut off she'll feel that more than the physical pain."

"I know. I'll meet her at the hospital. The real Agent Mink called. Helicopter is ready when you are."

Hotch takes a deep breath. "We're on our way to the airstrip. Let's take all these bastards down."

"Damn right. Good luck and please, please be safe."

"We will be."

JJ hangs up and looks at the computer geeks. "The guys are going straight to the copter. I'm going to meet Emily at the hospital."

"She's okay?" Garcia asks.

"Mostly. They…they hurt her, Pen. But she's alive and that's all I'm going to concentrate on right now," JJ states with conviction.

The geeks nod as JJ walks out of the room. Garcia suddenly stands.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?" Kevin asks.

"We're walking her out in case those assholes that took Emily have friends."

Kevin scrambles to his feet and follows Garcia.

* * *

Emily feels a hand stroke her cheek. She opens her eyes and forces a smile to her face.

"Hi."

JJ leans down and kisses her gently. "Hi."

"I have to buy Helen something pretty and you owe her chocolates," Emily says weakly.

JJ can't help but smile. "Uh, okay. And why?"

Emily holds up her left hand, which is surrounded by an ice pack. "She got my wedding ring off without having to cut it. She's holding it for you."

JJ chuckles. "I'll buy her two boxes of chocolate for that one." She studies her wife's swollen face, striped with bright red lines and purple bruises. "God, baby, are you okay? Really?"

"Yeah," Emily assures her. "They didn't give me morphine but whatever they did use is great."

JJ laughs. "Uh, not what I meant but I'll take that for now." She takes a deep breath. "I was so scared, Em. I'm sorry I made you go home."

Emily shakes her head. "Stop. They wanted one of us. If not me it would have been someone else. I'm just so glad it wasn't you. And so damn glad it wasn't Pen again." She swallows hard and JJ grabs the cup of water on the side, holding the straw so Emily can wet her mouth. "Thanks." JJ nods and sets the cup aside. "Guys going for the assassin?"

"Yeah. We should have him in custody in an hour or so."

"Good. I was worried we'd never have good answers for Henry and Helen." Emily's eyes start to droop.

"We will, Em. We most certainly will." She kisses Emily's forehead. "Sleep now, baby. Just sleep."

Emily just nods and closes her eyes. JJ stares down at her.

"I couldn't have handled losing you, Em. Just couldn't have handled it," she whispers as she rubs her hands over their twins.

* * *

Hotch and Morgan shake their heads.

"Too late. Too fucking late," Hotch says in frustration.

"Probably ran as soon as he left Garcia," Morgan suggests.

"Most likely." He walks over and picks up a family portrait off a shelf. "A wife and three kids. He packed them up and took off."

"He even left his pride and joy," Rossi reports walking into the room. "1966 Mustang GT. Beautiful car. Even has what looks to be the factory original 8-track player."

"Shit. So he's not even staying in the States. He's going back wherever he came from." He holds up the photo. "No other photos in the room. This is either a ruse or in his haste he missed it."

"Let's hope he missed it and get Garcia running those faces. If they all left together they may be boarding a plane or something," Morgan states.

"Guys! Can you come in here a minute?" Reid calls from another room.

They walk into a den and see the genius staring at the wall.

"What is it, Reid?" Hotch asks.

"I know I'm not into building like Morgan but this wall looks off to me."

Morgan walks over and runs his hand down the wall as he studies it. He steps into the hallway a moment, glances back in the room, then walks down to the next room. He walks back into the den nodding.

"Reid's right. That wall happens too soon. There's a space between the two rooms."

Hotch and Rossi go into the next room, while Reid and Morgan stay in that room to search for a way to open the secret room. It is Rossi who finally locates the button disguised as a door stop. He twists it just right and a door pops open in the guest bedroom.

"In here!" He calls out.

He and Hotch stare in awe at the room. The fact that there are at least 40 guns of varying sizes in the room tells them their killer has fled overseas. Hotch walks over and uses his gloved hand to pick up a letter sitting on top of the only gun not on the wall.

_Dear Agents or Detectives,_

_I am assuming you ripped my house apart looking for evidence of who I am. If you've found this room I will save you some time: the revolver below this letter was my weapon of choice when carrying out contracts. It is the one that killed Detective William LaMontagne. I swear I was lead to believe there was a valid reason for his death. Sadly, it seems my partner was instead trying to get me caught, most likely in hope of knowing where I would be so another assassin could end my life._

_Though I know you wish me to stand for my various crimes, I am afraid I must disappoint you. My family and I have departed the United States with no plans to return. _

_Please pass on my condolences to the family of Detective LaMontagne._

Hotch grunts as he finishes the letter. "He'll have to excuse me if I don't pass on anything about his ass to Helen."

Rossi nods. "Agreed. Let's show the picture to Koresh. If it's the man known as Anthony Powell we'll get it out to every port and gate in the country. He won't get out of here easily."

Hotch just nods, worried it may be too late to get full justice for Will. But they would have the money man and his machinations are what lead to the untimely, and pointless death of their friend. He would pay for Will and every other death attached to the revolver.


	14. Chapter 14

"So if Koresh didn't know where Powell lived how did you find him?" Emily asks.

Hotch smiles. "Our geeks rock," he says with a characteristic Garcia statement.

"Damn right we do," she agrees. "We traced the burn phone numbers. And then we crossed that with the Mustang. We didn't have the year but we knew enough about it to match a classic Mustang to the area the phone was pinging and Voila! There he was."

"Good job," Emily praises. She winces as her hand experiences a muscle spasm.

"Can I get you anything, Princess?" Garcia offers.

"No. Fine. It just has to ease up." Emily does a few Lamaze breaths until the pain eases. "Damn. Not fun."

"Sure isn't." Garcia pats her on the shoulder. "I am so glad the killer wasn't an abusive ass. He just scared the crap out of me."

Emily smiles. "I'm glad that's all he did, Pen."

Hotch nods. "Me, too."

Emily takes a deep breath. "So, uh, everyone went with Jen to talk to Helen and Henry?"

Hotch nods. "Yes. Kevin is still at the precinct finishing up some stuff Florence and Baylor will need to give to the prosecutor but the rest went with JJ. She wasn't sure who Henry would want around when he found out."

"Damn. Wish I could be there," Emily says regretfully.

"We know, Prentiss. We know," Hotch agrees.

* * *

JJ stares into Helen's eyes. The first part of this would be for her ears only. Then they would break the news to Henry.

"Helen, I don't know how to say this. Nothing will make it any less painful." She bites her lip a second. "Will was killed because a jerk wanted to cut ties with the contract killer he worked with. He set him up in Houston but the information wasn't put together down there. So he came here and set up Will to be killed in such a way that the FBI would get called in."

"Oh, my God…"

"He then impersonated an FBI agent to feed us enough information to see that it wasn't just a random robbery. Will had done nothing to deserve what happened to him. And video evidence showed that his last act was to try to calm who he thought was a robber and do what he could to protect the store clerk. He died a hero and will always be remembered as such."

"So…it was pointless. My daughter will never know her father because a fucking prick wanted to cut ties with another fucking prick?"

JJ nods. "Yes."

Helen wrings her hands together. "Every time he put on his badge and gun I'd prepare myself that this could happen; prepare myself that I could be at work and he'd be wheeled in on a stretcher. But I always thought there would be better answers than this. It's just…just…" her voice trails off.

"I know. You don't know how much I wish I could give you a better explanation."

"I guess…I guess I will just have to remember he was trying to save a life at the end. He could have hidden, could have cowered behind the food racks. But instead he made himself known to try to protect that clerk. That_ does_ mean something."

"Yeah, it does," JJ agrees.

"Helen, I didn't get a chance to tell you," Reid starts, sitting forward in his chair. "I wrote out entire notepads of every memory I have of Will. I plan to copy them and bind them for Henry. I'll do it for Annabelle, too, so that someday she can see who her Daddy was. And if she has questions I will always be there to answer them."

Helen forces a smile to her face, her eyes glassy with tears. "Thank you, Reid." She sits for a second. "I…I don't know what to do now. For days I had his funeral to plan, then I had a couple days of just being angry that his killer was still out there. Now…now what do I do? What's my next step?"

As if in answer to the question, Annabelle starts to fuss. JJ smiles at the widow.

"You go love your daughter and tell her stories about the wonderful, brave man her father was."

Helen smiles for real this time. "Yeah…I think I can do that."

As she walks out, JJ and Reid walk out to the backyard where Morgan is playing with Henry under the watchful eye of Rossi.

"To'down!" Henry calls, throwing his arms in the air.

JJ giggles as she sees him do a "touchdown dance" NFL players would be proud of. Morgan gets up off the ground.

"Yep, touchdown. You are so fast, Henry!"

Rossi looks up at JJ. "All okay in there?"

JJ shrugs. "As okay as it can be." She walked down the two steps into the backyard. "Henry, can I talk to you a second?"

He runs over. "Hi, Mommy! I gots a to'down on Uncle Gan!"

"That's great! You'll be a great football player someday." She takes his hand. "Let's go sit down a second."

Morgan walks up to stand by Reid and Rossi as JJ walks Henry over to a bench in the back garden. She sits down and pulls her son as much into her lap as she can.

"Henry, I want…want you to know we caught the bad man that…hurt Daddy."

Henry thinks about that a second. "So Daddy can come home now?"

JJ feels like she's been punched in the gut. "Uh, no, sweetie. Daddy is an angel now, remember? He'll be able to always watch over us but he can't come home."

Henry's eyes well up with tears. "But I WANT Daddy!" Henry insists. "Bad man is gone so he can come home! He can! I know he can!"

JJ just pulls him close as he bursts into heart wrenching sobs. "Oh, Little Man, I wish that were the case. I so, so wish that were the case."

She holds him and rocks him, wishing there was a way to make a 3 year old completely understand that death is a permanent thing, not just a sad inconvenience.

* * *

The next morning, Emily gives her Dad a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for putting off going back to England. I think it helped Jen to have the kids around last night. And I know it helped Helen to have Francesca there to take care of dinner and things."

"No problem, Emily. When things suddenly heated up it didn't seem right to just leave so close to an answer." He carefully lifts her arm. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't need a specialist?"

Emily shakes her head. "No. Mostly soft tissue damage. He was doing his best to prolong the pain."

"Well, gee, lucky you," Gerald smirks.

Emily grins. "Yeah, just what I was thinking."

He drives her to the airstrip where both the BAU jet and his jet are waiting. As Emily gets out of his car, Henry sees her and starts to run to her.

"MAMA!"

Emily smiles and kneels down to accept his hug. "Hey, Champ. How you doing?"

"Daddy an angel still, Mama."

Emily hugs him tighter, her heart breaking at the sad statement. She sees it for what it really is: the hope she will tell him something different; the prayer that she will tell him there is a way to bring his daddy back. "I know, Henry. I know." She kisses his cheek. "But your uncles got that bad man that hurt him. And we will always have your daddy in our hearts."

"Want him here, Mama," he whispers.

"I know, Champ. Me, too." She leans him back. "Tell you what: when we get home we'll go buy a special candle for him and we'll do one of those memory talks that Jack told you about, okay?" Henry nods. She kisses him again. "Good."

He brings a hand up and slowly draws a finger over her cheek. "You gots boo-boo's, Mama."

Emily nods. "Yeah. But they are getting better."

He leans in and gently kisses her cheek. "Boo, Mama. Boo."

She smiles. "Thank you, Henry. You kissed all the pain away."

She stands, lifting him up in her arms. The three of them head up to the planes to start the journey home.


	15. Chapter 15

**Epilogue**

Pierre Levesque laughs as he watches his kids playing in the waves. His wife is laughing and taking video of the shenanigans. The relocation from southern Louisiana to the south of France had been easier on the kids since they could still play in the ocean. For the last month since the move they had spent every weekend here. Suddenly Levesque's view is blocked by a man in a suit. He slowly looks up.

"Pardon?" he says in irritation.

"You speak English. So do I. So we'll use that," Rossi states. "Pierre Levesque, alias Anthony Powell, you are under arrest for multiple counts of murder, one count of kidnapping, multiple counts of murder for hire, and possession of illegal weapons."

"I am afraid you have the wrong man. My name is Andre Thibault," he corrects with an easy smile.

"Don't try to play me. I've been in the game way too long," Rossi warns him.

Levesque studies the man a moment before laughing. "You forget: France has no extradition treaty with the United States." He shrugs. "You cannot touch me no matter who I am."

Rossi holds up a piece of paper. "Extradition treaties aren't required. Our governments chatted at very high levels and it turns out your people don't really want a murderous thug hanging out on their beaches." He nods to some men behind Levesque. "Your local police are taking you into custody and you'll be turned over to me, Agent Prentiss and a couple of U.S. Marshalls for a trip back to the U.S." He lifts a hand to stop Levesque's protest. "And if you don't want your wife charged as an accessory you will surrender without causing trouble. We all have a hard time believing she didn't know what you did for a living. And we doubt a jury will believe it, either."

Levesque looks beyond Rossi to see his wife and children being held back by two municipal police officers. He slowly brings his eyes back to Rossi.

"Well played, Agent Rossi."

"You know me?"

Levesque grins as he stands. "Your analyst was quite informative. She told me what each of you would do to me if you caught me." He turns and looks at Emily Prentiss. "She told me you'd hurt me worst of all."

"Tempted," Emily agrees. "So don't give me a reason."

Levesque allows the police to step forward and cuff him. As he is in a swimsuit and tee shirt, it doesn't take long to pat him down. As they lead him away his wife calls out to him. He glances over his shoulder and answers her. Rossi looks at Emily, who is glaring at the man.

"Un meurtrier et un menteur. Comment est-elle autant de chance?" she says to him.

The French police chuckle as Levesque is pushed past her. Rossi steps up to his friend.

"What did he say, Emily?"

"Told her it was a misunderstanding and that everything would be fine soon."

"And what did you say?"

"I said, 'A liar and a murderer. How did she get so lucky?'"

Rossi just grins and nods in agreement as Emily turns and follows the procession of police and the killer back to the waiting automobiles.

Detective William LaMontagne, Jr. can finally rest in peace.


End file.
